IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


l.i 


144    _ 
f  illlM 


IM    12.5 


Hi 


16 


2.0 


1.8 


1.25      1.4 

1.6 

"^ 

6"     — 

► 

V] 


<^ 


/^ 


^3 


■c^l 


4 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


C/j 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions 


Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


1980 


Technicai  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


□ 


n 


n 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagee 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

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Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
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D 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli^  avec  d'autres  documents 

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une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mdthode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


I      I    Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe< 
Pages  ddcolordes,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached/ 
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Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 

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Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I      I  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

|~71  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

r~~l  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I      I  Only  edition  available/ 


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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


7 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

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The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
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other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —^(meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  filmd,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  filmds  en  commengant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commenpant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — »-signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Stre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

I 


qm^ 


'V 


A  Political  Creed; 


Embracing  Some  Ascertained  Truths 


IN  SOCIOLOGY  ff  POLITICS. 


AN   ANSWER 


TO 


H,  GEORGE'S  "PROGRESS  p.^'  POVERTY." 


BY    G.   MANIGAULT, 


Formerly  of  South  Carolina. 


NEW  YORK: 

Wynkoop  &  Hallenbeck,  Printeks, 

121  Fulton  Street. 


X884. 


Hk 


^1 


%[SS 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  yeivr  188 1,  by  G.  Manigault, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


PREFACE. 


Not  wisliing  to  make  a  hooh^  I  have  compressed  this 
into  as  compact  a  space  as  is  compatible  with  a  compre- 
hensive treatment  of  the  subject.  I  have  called  it  an 
answer  to  "  Progress  and  Poverty,"  by  Henry  Greorge ; 
but  it  was  written  before  I  had  seen  his  book,  which  I 
have  read  but  lately.     For  if  one  be  true,  the  other  must 

be  false.    As  to  that,  let  the  reaOBr  decide. 

G.  M. 


A  POLITICAL  CREED, 


EMBRACINQ 


Some  Ascertainei  Trntls  in  Sociology  ani  Politics. 


From  before  the  days  of  Plato  and  Aristotle  down  to 
our  own  time,  many  of  the  most  acute  minds  have  been 
striving  to  discover,  and  to  explain,  the  principles  on 
which  human  society  and  political  organizations  are,  and 
ought  to  be,  based.  Yet,  to  this  day,  in  the  different 
schools  of  politics  and  social  science,  the  most  opposite 
and  incompatible  views  are  maintained  by  numerous  and 
able  advocates.  How  far,  then,  is  it  possible  to  draw 
out,  from  the  results  of  experience  and  reason,  a  con- 
nected system  of  principles  in  these  sciences,  so  well 
founded  and  obvious  as  to  command  the  general  assent 
of  right-thinking  men  ? 

Setting  aside  all  the  authority  we  might  derive  from 
revealed,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  from  natural  religion,  in 
proof  that  society  and  government  are  not  merely  of 
man's  device,  I  will  enter  on  a  search  after  the  ascer- 
tained and  admitted  truths  in  sociology  and  politics,  and 
endeavor  to  trace  the  connection  of  these  truths  with, 
and  their  dependence  on,  each  other. 


1 

t  • 

f 

1 

■     ■  ■ 
1         ; 

1 

i  - 

6 


I. 

In  tliis  mysterious  and  puzzling  world  iu  which  we 
iind  ourselves  existing,  what  means  have  we  of  ascer- 
taining the  truths  which  should  enlighten  and  guide  lis? 
We  Iind  ourselves  to  be  organized  beings,  endowed  not 
only  with  certain  appetites,  instincts,  and  powers  of  ac- 
tion ;  but,  also,  with  the  means  of  observing  the  j)he- 
nomena  surrounding  and  pressing  upon  us ;  and,  more- 
over, with  a  ca2)acity  and  a  propensity  to  draw  inferences 
from  these  phenomena,  when  collected  and  compared 
with  each  other.  Thence  we  arrive  at  conclusions,  which 
we  take  to  be  laws  regulating  the  occurrence  and  effects 
of  these  phenomena. 

The  want  of  leisure  and  of  experience  make  this  slow 
work.  Yet  we  gradually  acquire  some  knowledge  of  the 
nature  of  our  surroundings.  We  make  frequent  mis- 
takes, indeed,  which  we  have  to  correct  by  further, and 
more  careful  observation  ;  and  we  make  some  real  prog- 
ress in  knowledge. 

We  discover  that,  besides  the  material  world  that  sur- 
rounds us,  there  are  intellectual  truths  which  spring 
from  our  observation  of  it,  embracing  and  explaining  it ; 
which  truths  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon,  and,  in  a 
measure,  direct  and  control  matter. 

We,  moreover,  discover  that,  while  the  mass  of  mate- 
rial objects  with  which  we  come  in  contact  are  organized 
beings,  the  law  of  that  Nature  which  gave  them  existence 
does  not  endow  them  with  permanence.  Yet  we  see 
that  it  provides,  by  some  means,  for  maintaining  and  re- 
placing its  productions  as  they  pass  away,  filling  up  the 
gaps  among  its  organized  beings  with  a  succession  of  be- 
ings similar  to  those  that  are  passing  away.     This  is  one 


broad  general  law  of  Nature,  applying  to  organized  crea- 
tures, which  we  arrive  at  with  a  certainty  that  shuts  out 
all  doubt. 

Further  observation  shows  us  that  Nature  attains  this 
end  by  stamping  on  her  organized  creatures  the  relations 
of  sex.  All  animals  and  all  plants  partake  of  these  char- 
acteristics in  one  form  or  another.  In  tlie  case  of  j^lants 
these  relations  are  not  so  simple  and  obvious.  But  we 
soon  learn  that  animals  are  divided  into  male  and  female, 
in  various  proportions. 

Thus  we  soon  become  familiar  with  another  compre- 
hensive law  of  Nature :  that  organized  life  is  maintained, 
not  by  the  permanence  of  the  individuals,  but  by  their 
reproducing  offspring  like  themselves,  and  that  this  re- 
production is  brought  about  through  the  agency  of  the 
division  of  each  class  of  animals,  and  even  of  plants,  into 
two  sexes,  male  and  female.  Thus,  we  are  beginning  to 
master  some  of  the  great  laws  of  Nature,  by  which  she 
regulates  the  world  we  live  in. 

When  we  turn  our  attention  to  our  own  race  we  see  an 
explanation  of  the  instinct  which  usually  leads  to  the 
mutual  choice  and  companionship  of  one  man  and  one 
woman  :  that  is,  to  life-long,  monogamous  marriage,  and 
to  the  many  domestic  and  social  proprieties  springing 
from  it.  Many  facts  prove  that  this  is  the  design  of 
Nature. 

1.  In  all  countries  and  ages  there  is  an  approach  to 
equality  in  the  number  of  male  and  female  births.  Yet 
there  is  always,  as  far  as  we  know,  a  small  excess  of  male 
births  over  the  female.  Why  is  this  provided  ?  As  men, 
from  their  occupations  and  enterprises,  are  more  exposed 
than  women  to  be  cut  off  by  accidental  and  violent 
deaths,  especially  in  boyhood  and  early  manhood,  this 


8 


kk 


slight  excess  in  the  birth  of  males  looks  very  like  an  ex- 
press design  in  Nature  to  provide  for  nioiiogunious  niiir- 
riage  by  equalizing  tlie  number  of  the  two  sexes.  The 
proportions  of  the  two  sexes  in  humun  births  vary  some- 
what :  from  thirteen  males  to  twelve  females,  to  about 
twenty-five  males  to  twenty-four  females.  The  causes  of 
these  varying  proportions,  we  believe,  have  not  been  as- 
certained. 

2.  Unlike  other  animals,  the  offspring  of  mankind 
need  the  care  and  support  of  both  parents  for  a  long 
term  of  years.  Thus  the  natural  claim  of  both  wife  and 
children  for  maintenance,  and  on  the  property  acquired, 
is  obvious,  and  points  to  a  life-long  marriage,  and  sug- 
gests the  obligation  of  monogamy. 

3.  The  analogy  of  the  instincts  of  not  a  few  animals, 
in  their  unions,  proves  that  monogamous  marriage  may 
be  strictly  according  to  Nature.  Thus,  while  in  the  hive 
of  the  honey-bee,  there  are  thousands  of  workers,  which 
are  neuters,  hundreds  of  drones,  who  are  males,  and  only 
one  female,  the  queen  bee,  we  find,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  capreolus,  or  roe-buck,  the  pigeon,  the  goose,  the 
ostrich,  and  many  other  animals,  are  strictly  monogamous 
in  their  unions. 

The  more  we  investigate  this  point,  the  more  obvious 
does  it  become  that  human  society  naturally  originates  in 
the  monogamous  marriage,  and  is  based  on  the  family 
springing  from  it.  Where  monogamous  marriage  is  not 
the  foundation  of  tlie  family  and  of  society,  could  we 
look  back  far  enough,  we  would  find  out  that  some 
peculiar  circumstances,  some  unnatural  causes,  have  dis- 
turbed the  order  of  Nature,  driving  the  human  race  to 
polygamy  or  polyandry. 

However  the  human  race  may  have  originated,  we 


9 


know  tliat  man  does  not  now  come  into  the  world  a  solitary 
hein<i^.  He  luifi  at  least  a  known  mother  ;  and  should  he 
lose  lier  at  the  time  of  his  hirth,  his  continued  existence 
depends  on  some  one  who  supplies  her  place. 

Usually  we  come  into  life  the  expected  and  welcomed 
member  of  a  family  circle.  We  are  born  into  society. 
Our  relations  with  kindred  beings  beginning  witb  our 
birth,  our  self-seeking  and  our  social  propensities  are  de- 
veloped together  through  the  long  years  of  infancy  and 
early  youtli.  Thus  the  first  society  known  to  us  is  the 
family  circle ;  the  first  government,  parental  control. 
And  we  necessarily  continue  under  these  influences  un- 
til we  can  provide  for  ourselves ;  indeed,  usually  and 
naturally,  until  long  after  that  earlier  period  of  life. 
Moreover,  we  are  ever  after  under  some  social  influences 
— unless  we  become  outlaws. 


II. 


From  the  most  primitive  condition  of  man,  to  the  most 
advanced  stage  of  civilization  yet  reached,  all  the  neces- 
saries, conveniences,  and  comforts  of  life  are  the  results 
of  tlie  labor  and  skill  of  individuals,  working  singly,  or 
in  combination  ;  but  the  primary  object  of  each  one  is  to 
reap,  individually,  the  profit  of  his  toil.  For,  although 
the  world  we  live  in  affords  to  us  fields  of  labor  teem- 
ing with  productions  capable  of  being  adapted  to  useful 
and  beneficial  purposes,  they  are  not  directly  given  to 
us.  They  are  merely  placed,  more  or  less,  within  our 
reach  ;  not  thrust  into  our  hands  or  our  mouths.  It  is 
left  to  us,  when  prompted  by  our  wants,  to  help  our- 
selves, by  appropriating  them.  These  acts  of  appropria- 
tion require,   on  our  part,  more  or  less  of  enterprise, 


Ftl 


'MlMJUIIM".Jl>ii>i-l-l«ii')''i 


ss 


10 


labor,  and  perseverance ;  and,  moreover,  are  often  attended 
with  exhausting  exertions,  uncertain  success,  and  even 
suffering  '-nd  danger  to  those  who  make  them.  This  out- 
lay of  labor,  skill,  and  hazard,  becoming  inextricably  in- 
corporated with  our  acquisitions,  originates  our  propri- 
etary right ;  that  is,  our  right  to  exclude  from  the  benefit 
of  our  acquisitions,  those  who  have  made  no  such  expendi- 
ture of  their  energies  on  the  materials  thus  brought  into 
our  possession  or  laid  up  for  our  use. 

Thus,  all  value  and  utility,  being  the  result  of  the  labor 
of  individuals,  comes  into  existence  in  the  possession  of, 
and  as  the  property  of,  individuals.  Until  there  be  prop- 
erty, there  can  be  neither  robbery  nor  theft.  As  soon 
as  property  comes  into  existence,  robbery  and  theft 
become  possible,  and  must  be  guarded  against.  In  those 
cases,  where  the  acquisition  is  the  result  of  combined 
labor  and  united  exertions,  the  undertaking  is  not  com- 
plete until  each  one  has  assigned  to  him  his  share  of  the 
result.  Thus  proprietary  right  at  once  furnishes  the 
motive  for,  and  the  reward  of,  our  exertions  to  maintain 
and  to  better  our  condition. 


III. 


Natube  makes  similar  provision  for  supplying  the 
wants  of  animals  ;  not  feeding  them,  or  sheltering  them, 
but  putting  within  their  reach  the  means  of  feeding  and 
sheltering  themselves.  Moreover,  man's  earliest  education 
was  the  observation  of  the  instincts  of  animals ;  especially 
as  shown  in  procuring  their  food,  and  securing  tKeir 
safety. 

The  study  of  the  animal  kingdom  affords  us  abundant 
proofs  that  property  is  deeply  founded  in  nature,  and  that 


11 


animals,  by  instinct,  claim  proprietary  rights  which  are 
resjiected  by  others  of  their  own  species.  The  nests  built 
by  birds  become  their  property,  undisputed  by  others  of 
their  kind,  and  usually  by  those  of  other  kinds. 

So  general  is  this  respect  paid  to  proprietorship  in  the 
nest,  that  naturalists  have  been  long  surprised  and 
puzzled  at  the  intrusive  habit  of  the  cuckoo  as  an  anomaly 
in  Nature.  For  the  cuckoo,  laying  a  very  small  ^^g^  for 
a  bird  of  its  size,  often  deposits  one  in  the  nest  of  some 
suiall  bird.  When  tins  Q^g  is  hatched,  the  young  cuckoo 
rapidly  out-grows  its  companions,  to  whom  its  unwelcome 
company  is  often  fatal.  Shakespeare  makes  the  young 
cuckoo  the  type  of  ingratitude,  expressing  it  in  the  fol- 
lowing lines : 

"  The  bcdge-sparrow  fed  tlie  cuclvoo  so  long, 
That  it  had  its  head  bitten  off  by  its  youug." 

In  the  case  of  the  eagle  and  some  other  birds,  this  prop- 
erty in  the  nest  apparently  continues,  not  only  during 
the  breeding  season,  but  for  life.  So  the  burrows  and 
dens  of  many  quadrupeds,  beasts  of  prey,  and  others, 
continue  in  their  possession  for  years,  undisturbed  by 
others  of  their  own  kind.  The  squirrel  makes  a  store- 
house of  his  hollow  tree,  providing  against  the  winter's 
dearth ;  and  the  hamster-rat  burrows  into  the  earth',  and 
stores  its  cellars,  with  similar  providence.  Nor  does  the 
law  of  comnmnity  of  goods  apply  to  these  stores,  except 
in  cases  where,  like  that  of  the  honey  bee,  one  mother 
unites  a  whole  community  into  one  family,  as  in  the 
hive. 

Even  the  most  timid  animals  often  show  unexpected 
spirit  and  resources  in  the  defense  of  their  homes  and 
their  young.     But   bees,  wasps,   ants,  and   many  other 


12 


ml 


species,  build  up  elaborate  homes,  and  store  them  with 
food,  against  the  season  of  scarcity  in  each  year ;  and 
they  value  not  their  lives  in  a  patriotic  war  in  defense  of 
their  citadel. 

The  evidence  from  natural  history,  proving  proprietary 
rights,  is  especially  clear  and  strong  as  to  local  proprietor- 
shit),  corresponding  with  what  is  termed  in  law  landed  prop- 
erty. Dogs  show  a  deep  conviction  as  to  the  sacredness 
of  their  masters'  rights  of  property,  both  movable  and  fixed. 
The  shepherd's  dog  takes  charge  of  hundreds  of  his  mas- 
ter's sheep ;  and  never  mistakes  those  of  some  neighbor 
for  part  of  the  flock  under  his  care.  Even  the  domesti- 
cated herd  will  resent  the  intrusion  of  others  of  their 
kind  on  their  special  pasture. 

Although  it  is  evident  that  Nat\ire  intended  that  many 
species  of  animals  should  prey  upon  others  of  different 
race  from  themselves,  yet  it  is  obvious  that  instinct  has 
stamped  on  most  animals  a  respect  for  some  of  the  pro- 
prietary rights  of  individuals  of  their  own  kind. 

However  much  the  experience,  observation,  and  rea- 
son of  mankind  may  have  developed  the  instinctive 
promptings  of  Nature  into  a  more  complete  and  complex 
system  of  rights  of  property  than  that  which  sufficed  in 
a  primitive  state  of  society ;  yet  property  and  proprietary 
rights,  in  their  essential  elements,  are  founded  on  the 
instinct  of  animals,  including  man  himself. 

lY. 

The  spontaneous  productions  of  Nature,  which  supply 
the  wants  of  animals,  especially  of  man,  are  limited  in 
quantity,  even  in  the  most  fertile  lands.  Moreover, 
periods  of  abundance    and  of  scarcity  mark  different 


13 


years,  and  different  seasons  of  tlie  same  year.  Both  men 
and  animals  are  always  tending  toward  an  increase  of 
numbers  far  beyond  that  which  the  spontaneous  yield  of 
the  ricliest  soil  can  maintain. 

But  the  appropriation,  by  individual  men,  of  parts  of 
the  earth's  surface  to  their  private  and  exclusive  use, 
leads  gradually  but  rapidly  to  the  incorporation,  with 
each  of  these  localities,  of  so  much  of  the  occupant's  in- 
dustry, skill,  foresight,  and  economy,  that  the  hunting- 
ground,  which  scantily  supplied  the  wants  of  one  savage, 
now  maintains  hundreds  of  industrious  and  civilized  men. 
This  wonderful  and  beneficent  multiplication  of  produce 
results  simply  from  civilized  man's  having  incorporated 
so  much  of  his  own  industry,  skill,  and  enterprise  with 
the  material  basis  which  nature  afforded  him  to  work  on. 

Thus,  the  regions  roamed  over  by  the  hunting  tribes  of 
North  America  did  not  then  support  one  human  being  to 
the  square  mile.  Australia,  a  far  more  barren  continent, 
did  not  then,  perhaps,  support  one  to  the  square  league. 
Now  both  of  these  regions,  through  that  industry,  enter- 
prise, and  economy  generated  by  the  possession  of  pri- 
vate property,  especially  in  land,  are  furnishing  abun- 
dant provision  for  rapidly  multiplying  millions,  which 
yet  fall  far  short  of  approaching  the  maximum  of  the 
po]iulation  these  countries  can  sustain. 

Yet  it  would  be  only  necessary  persistently  to  violate 
and  overthrow  tliis  right  of  private  property  in  land  for  a 
generation  or  two,  to  reduce  these  regions  again  to  the 
savage  and  desolate  condition  from  wliich  they  have  been 
redeemed  in  very  modern  times.  Proprietary  rights  are 
not  the  device  of  man's  selfish  ingenuity ;  but  the  char- 
tered rights  of  property  are  stamped  by  Nature  on  the 
instincts  of  animals,  and  especially  of  the  animal  man. 


14 


Y. 


!      I 
I      1 


f      i 


Ir 


!      ! 


Powerful  as  is  the  impulse  which  drives  men  to  seek 
the  gratification  of  their  own  wants ;  and  much  as  this 
impulse  tends  to  promote  their  welfare  and  progressive 
improvement ;  there  is  another  natural  motive  which 
urges  them  to  industry,  enterprise,  and  foresight ;  and 
tends  yet  more  directly  toward  social  progress  and 
civilization.  It  is  the  instinctive  desire  to  provide 
for  and  to  protect  their  own  offspring,  and  those 
naturally  dependent  upon  them.  We  see  this  instinctive 
care  of  their  ojffspring  strongly  and  invariably  manifested 
in  animals  of  almost  every  species.  It  shows  itself  as 
strongly,  but  not  so  invariably,  in  the  human  race.  We 
will  not  stop  now  to  explain  why  this  instinct  is  less  uni- 
versal and  unvarying  with  mankind  than  with  other 
animals.  But  it  is  evident  that  the  long  and  helpless 
infancy  of  man's  offspring  makes  the  prolonged  care  and 
protection  of  the  parent  more  necessary  to  children  than 
to  the  young  of  other  animals.  And  the  fact  that  man- 
kind have  continued  to  exist  and  to  multiply,  is  proof 
that  parental  neglect  and  improvidence  have  been  the 
exception,  and  not  the  rule. 

The  obligation  to  provide  for  their  offspring  is  so  pro- 
longed with  mankind,  that  it  generates  tlie  necessity  of 
exercising  industry  and  foresight  beyond  the  promptings 
of  mere  instinct — suggesting  the  collecting  and  keeping 
of  the  means  of  long  fulfilling  this  duty.  This  leads  to 
the  laying  up  of  a  lasting  supply — that  is,  property — 
and  points  out  that  the  violation  of  proprietary  rights  is 
a  crime  against  individuals,  and  against  Nature's  laws. 

In  the  most  primitive  and  isolated  condition  of  society 
in  which  we  can  imagine  the  human  race  to  have  existed, 


I 


15 


the  savage  hunter  pursued  or  ]ay  in  wait  for  his  prey,  to 
supply,  not  only  himself,  but  his  family  with  food.  ]*^ot 
merely  the  selfish,  but  equally  the  social  and  domestic 
instincts  also,  at  once  stimulated  and  controlled  his  indus- 
try and  enterprise.  If  the  bounty  of  Nature  continues 
to  furnish  a  liberal  maintenance  to  the  bunter  and  to  his 
family,  in  a  generation  or  two  this  family  becomes  a 
tribe,  governed,  or  at  least  much  influenced,  by  their  com- 
mon ancestor,  while  he  lives  ;  and  at  his  death,  one  of  the 
elder  and  more  energetic  of  his  sons  succeeds  as  the  head 
of  the  tribe.  For  unity  in  counsel  and  in  action  is  essen- 
tial to  the  welfare  and  even  the  safety  of  this  young  and 
small  community. 

Society  and  rudimentary  government  thus  make  one 
step  beyond  the  most  primitive  social  condition  we  can 
imagine.  The  family  becomes  a  tribe  under  patriarchal 
rule.  This  supplies  the  need  of  a  more  extended  union 
for  the  mut'ial  protection  of  the  rights  of  each  individ- 
ual. But  it  deprives  the  individual  of  no  rights  he  may 
have  acquired.  Nor  does  it  displace  the  parental  author- 
ity in  the  household,  for  that  continues  to  be  as  neces- 
sary as  ever. 


VI. 


Yakious  circumstances,  local  and  accidental,  may  have 
influenced  the  first  formation  of  government.  But  the 
need  of  some  political  organization  of  society  is  soon  felt 
in  every  age  and  country.  It  is  needed  to  counteract  the 
evil  dispositions  which  never  fail  to  manifest  tliemselves 
in  a  marked  degree,  in  at  least  some  individuals,  in  every 
community. 

Natural  affection  prompts  most  parents  to  exert  them- 


10 


selves  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  their  children,  stim- 
ulating them  to  industry,  enterprise,  and  providence. 
But  some  evil-disposed  persons  seek  to  appropriate  to 
themselves  the  proceeds  of  the  labors  of  others.  Thus : 
One  savage  gathers  a  quantity  of  fruit,  or,  after  contriv- 
ing the  implements  needed  in  hunting  or  fishing,  kills 
his  game,  or  catches  his  fish.  Another  of  the  same 
tribe,  less  industrious  or  skillful,  seeks  to  supply  his  own 
wants,  by  stealing  the  fruit,  game,  or  fish,  or  perhaps 
the  hunting  or  fishing  implements,  from  him  who  has  ac- 
quired them  by  honest  industry.  Or  he  may  attempt  to 
rob  him  of  them  by  force.  The  party  wronged  naturally 
tries  to  defend  and  right  himself,  and  he  seldom  fails  to 
find  allies  to  aid  him. 

For  even  in  the  most  primitive  society,  even  in  the 
tribe  and  the  family,  all  but  the  culprit  see  the  need  of 
combining  to  prevent  and  punish  offenses  which,  if  un- 
restrained, would  dissolve  all  social  intercourse,  and 
starve  out  the  race.  Hence  originates  the  administration, 
by  society,  or  by  the  head  of  it,  of  justice  between  its 
members,  in  order  to  protect  them  from  each  other. 
This  is  done,  not  by  making  a  general  law  in  the  first  in- 
stance, but  by  deciding  a  particular  case,  which  serves  as 
a  precedent  for  the  decision  of  similar  cases  in  the  future, 
thus  laying  the  foundation  of  a  general  law. 

This  internal  need  of  a  government,  to  restrain  lawless 
conduct  within  society,  is  felt  wherever  society  exists. 
Even  in  the  family,  the  parent  has  to  protect  the  younger 
brother  from  the  elder ;  and,  perhaps,  the  sister  from 
both.  All  mankind,  perhaps  without  exception,  need 
some  infiuence,  external  to  themselves,  to  assist  them  in 
regulating  and  controlling  their  own  conduct. 


17 


VTI. 


Another  imperious  need  for  giving  a  political  organ- 
ization to  Bociety — an  agency  to  direct  and  control  the 
combined  strength  of  all  its  members — is  soon  felt  from 
the  necessity  of  resisting  violent  attacks  from  without. 

It  is  possible,  nay,  probable,  that  men  first  learned  to 
combine  and  organize  tlieir  means  of  defense  in  resist- 
ing powerful  beasts  of  prey.  The  lion  and  the  tiger 
may  have  been,  indirectly,  the  agents  in  reuniting  the 
wandering  and  scattered  tribe  into  a  more  compact  so- 
ciety. The  Ursus  SjpelcRus  and  the  Felis  ISpeloea^  now 
extinct,  were  far  more  powerful  than  the  bears  and  lions 
of  this  day,  and  they  were  cotemporaries  with  primitive 
man.  They  must  have  been  formidable  enemies,  com- 
pelling men  to  improve  their  weapons  and  fortify  their 
places  of  refuge  against  them.  Those  lacustrine  vil- 
lages, the  ruinous  foundations  of  which  have  of  late 
years  been  discovered  in  some  Swiss  lakes  and  elsewhere, 
may  have  originated  in  the  effort  to  secure  safe  shelter 
from  these  powerful  beasts  of  prey.  Successful  defense 
against  such  antagonists  first,  and  soon,  led  men  to  be- 
come bold  and  skillful  hunters  of  these  and  other  beasts 
they  formerly  dreaded. 

But  primitive  man  soon  found  more  dangerous  ene- 
mies than  beasts  of  prey.  Among  savages,  who  live 
chiefly  by  the  chase,  the  necessity  of  wandering  far  in 
quest  of  game  tended  to  break  up  and  scatter  the  hu- 
man race  into  many  small  tribes,  keeping  them  alienated 
from  each  other.  Any  one  of  these  tribes  might  find 
or  invent  causes  of  hostility  against  another.  The  mere 
killing  of  game  in  their  neighborhood,  viewed  as  a  tres- 
pass, might  excite  their  animosity,  and  thus  lead  to  war. 


■ 


WBom 


18 


I  11 


iliiil 


Then  would  arise  the  need  of  organizing  the  strength  of 
each  comnmnity,  in  order  to  repel  the  assaults  of  an  ex- 
ternal Iniinan  enemy. 

Here,  then,  are  two  needs  which  very  soon  render  it 
necessary  to  give  society  a  political  organization.  Man, 
associr.ung  with  his  fellow  man,  needs  a  government  to 
protect  his  rights  from  the  encroachments  of  his  fellows. 
And  there  is  equal  need  for  this  political  organization  in 
order  to  repel  violent  attacks  from  without.  But  it  is 
difficult  to  point  out  any  other  purpose  for  which  it  is 
necessary  to  call  into  action  the  intervention  of  govern- 
ment to  promote  the  good  of  mankind. 

If  man's  own  instinct,  and  liis  reason  and  experience, 
were  slow  to  prompt  him  to  unite  into  organized  society, 
he  might  derive  many  useful  hints  by  observing  the 
habits  of  the  animals  around  him.  Close  scrutiny  of  the 
strongholds  of  the  bee  and  the  ant  would  reveal  to  him 
multitudes  united  into  well-ordered  communities,  each 
individual  liaving  his  appointed  duty,  and  the  division  of 
labor  well  understood  and  practised  among  them.  Valu- 
able lessons  might  be  learned  from  tiie  gregarious  quad- 
rupeds and  birds.  The  flocks  of  the  chmnois  and  the 
moufflon  while  at  pasture  always  have  sentinels  posted 
around  them  to  give  the  alarm  on  the  approach  of  an 
enemy.  The  same  is  the  custom  of  many  other  species 
of  beasts  and  birds. 

Animals  have,  too,  their  leaders.  The  herd  of  red 
deer  follows  the  lead  of  some  antlered  stag.  The  wild 
horses  of  i\\Q,  ^pampas,  that  of  some  stately  stallion.  And 
huge  Inills  lead  the  bison  herds  of  the  North  American 
prairies.  The  wild  geese  are  marshalled  for  their  migra- 
tory flight  into  wedge-shaped  order,  some  strong-winged 
male  leading  at  the  apex  of  the  wedge.     Some  gregarious 


19 


birds,  especially  those  of  the  crow  khid,  even  seem  to 
hold  parliaments,  or  grand  courts  of  justice,  and  to  con- 
demn some  notorious  offenders,  after  public  trial,  to  pub- 
lic execution.  As  to  Rousseau's  dream  that  political  so- 
ciety originated  in,  or  was  founded  on,  a  Contrat  Social  / 
the  history  of  man  affords  no  more  proof  of  it  than 
the  natural  history  of  animals,  including  the  animal, 
man. 

All  were  born  into  society,  and  could  have  taken  no 
part  in  making  the  contract  on  which  Rousseau  assumes 
that  society  was  based. 


VIII. 

NErrnEB  history  nor  tradition  run  back  to  the  time 
when  human  society  and  government  in  its  various  forms 
first  came  into  existence.  But  we  have  some  rude  ex- 
amples, in  very  modern  times,  which  are  very  suggestive 
of  the  conditions  under  which  men  may  be  prompted, 
and  even  compelled,  to  organize  a  government  for  their 
own  protection.     For  example  : 

During  the  rapid  settlement  of  Nortli  America,  within 
the  last  two  or  three  centuries,  by  people  of  European 
origin,  there  has  always  been  a  frontier  population  push- 
ing on,  from  various  motives,  far  beyond  the  settled 
country,  into  the  interior  of  the  continent.  This  fron- 
tier population  was  made  up  of  various  elements.  Many 
enterprising  men,  fond  of  adventure,  felt  or  imagined 
that  their  exertions  were  cramped  by  the  growing  density 
of  the  population  around  them,  and  sought  wider  and 
less  occupied  fields  for  their  pursuits.  Many  others,  too, 
wlio  had  failed  in  their  undertakings  at  their  original 
homes,  often  from  want  of  industry  or  prudence,  sought 


20 

to  begin  life  again  in  a  new  home,  which  promised  less 
competition  and  greater  facilities  for  success. 

But  not  a  few  sought  the  frontier  merely  to  put  them- 
selves out  of  reach  of  the  law  and  of  the  civil  authority, 
which  would  no  longer  tolerate  their  lawless  careers. 
But 

'*  CcBlum,  not  animitm  mutant,  qui  trans  inare  citrrunt." 

And  migration  to  the  utmost  frontier,  or  beyond  it,  did 
not  change  the  character  or  conduct  of  this  latter  class. 
It  only  gave  freer  scoj^e  to  their  propensities  to  evil. 
Here,  in  the  Far  West,  beyond  the  pale  of  the  law  and 
of  civilization,  this  reprobate  class,  by  fraud,  robbery, 
and  violence,  soon  became  intolerable  nuisances  to  all 
those  who  sought  to  live  there  in  peace  and  safety,  and 
thrive  by  honest  industry,  not  by  depredating  on  others. 

In  the  absence  of  the  regular  administration  of  justice, 
the  better  class  of  frontiersmen  are  compelled  to  com- 
bine, and  take  the  law  into  their  own  hands,  and  thus 
maintain  justice  and  civil  order  in  their  midst.  By  more 
or  less  rude  and  summary  measures  they  rid  the  neigh- 
borhood of  these  foes  to  civil  society.  Their  operations, 
directed  against  outlaws,  are  a  sort  of  mean  between 
executing  civil  process  and  waging  open  war.  And 
doubtless,  in  such  cases,  many  acts  of  extreme  violence, 
of  mistaken  justice,  and  of  tyranny,  occur  in  their  rude 
efforts  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos,  to  protect  rights 
against  wrongs. 

But  in  more  remote  times,  and  in  other  lands,  many  a 
local  government  of  as  rude  an  origin  has  gradually 
improved  its  organization  and  its  administration,  so  as  to 
serve  well  its  purpose — the  protection  of  private  rights. 

Accidental  circumstances  might  vary  the  original  form 


21 


of  these  early  politics.  ITsnally,  some  leader  of  marked 
talent  and  ener<^y,  stamped  on  it  the  monarchical  type. 
Sometimes  a  combination  of  leading  men  might  found  an 
aristocracy  or  an  oligarchy.  Some  unusually  favoring 
occurrences  might  give  it  a  republican  character.  But  a 
true  democracy  would  be  hard  to  tind,  so  cumbrous  and 
evanescent  is  that  form. 


IX. 


We  may  observe  that  in  all  the  cases  that  originate  a 
necessity  for  a  government,  in  order  to  secure  men's 
rights,  and  preserve  social  order,  the  law  does  not  pretend 
to  create  or  grant  rights,  but  only  to  protect  rights 
already  existing,  and  those  which  individuals  may  here- 
after acquire  for  themselves. 

But  the  very  exercise  of  this  duty  of  protecting  rights 
develops,  more  or  less  rapidly,  the  perception  of  rights 
wliich,  at  first,  may  escape  the  notice  of  primitive  legis- 
lation. 

Thus,  men  are  naturally  prompt  in  making  promises, 
and  entering  into  contracts,  but  not  so  prompt  in  fulfill- 
ing them.  But  when  society  has  once  recognized  the 
wrongfulness  of  appropriating,  by  stealth  or  violence,  the 
product  of  another's  industry,  and  has  learned  to  resist 
the  wrong,  and  to  punish  the  wrong-doer,  it  needs  but 
one  step  further  in  reasoning,  to  lead  to  the  conviction 
that  a  breach  of  contract  is  also  an  offense ;  and  that  each 
one  in  the  community  is  interested  in  compelling  the 
contractor  to  fulfill  his  contract.  For  the  breach  of  it  is 
but  a  more  insidious  mode  of  depriving  a  man  of  the 
fruits  of  his  industry. 

As  men  exercise  their  reason  and  conscience,  the  field 


of  inquiry  und  of  jiidginont  aR  to  Bocial  duties  enlarges 
itHclf  rapidly.  Thus,  men  inHtinctivcly  recognize  the 
obligation  which  Nature  and  their  own  acts  have  laid  upon 
them,  to  provide  for  and  protect  their  own  families  and 
those  naturally  de])endent  upon  them.  They  learn  to 
recognize  certain  rights  as  vested  in  each  member  of  their 
household.  They  extend  this  feeling,  or  conviction,  so 
as  to  apply  it  to  the  families  of  their  neighbors  also. 
While  recognizing  the  need  of  great  authority  and  power 
in  the  liead  of  each  household,  they  learu  to  include 
every  one  in  the  tribe  or  community,  as  vested  with  cer- 
tain rights,  and  under  the  tribe's  protection.  They  lose 
esteem  for,  and  confidence  in,  those  who  obviously  neg- 
lect their  domestic  obligations.  Some  monstrous  act  of 
domestic  tyranny,  some  gross  outrage  against  a  wife  or  a 
child,  opens  their  eyes  to  the  fact  that  a  man  may  com- 
mit a  crime  against  his  own  family,  as  well  as  against  his 
neighbor ;  and  that  the  community  is  interested  in  pre- 
venting such  offenses  by  punishing  the  offender. 


K> 


X. 


Man  is  born  a  hunter,  like  the  beasts  of  prey.  But, 
unlike  them,  as  he  improves  his  condition,  he  is  con- 
stantly changing  tlie  object  of  his  chase  and  his  modes  of 
pursuing  them,  showing  increasing  ingenuity  and  cun- 
ning in  his  progress. 

As  men  multiply  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  spon- 
taneous products  of  nature  available  for  their  mainte- 
nance, begin  to  fail  them.  A  large  area  of  territory  is 
needed  to  support  the  primitive  tribes,  while  they  de- 
rive their  whole  subsistence  from  the  fruit  they  can 
gather  and  the  game  they  can  kill.     Even  in  the  wide 


23 


territory  open  to  tlieir  wandcri'nfi^s,  scarcity,  at  times 
rising  to  faniiiie,  often  tliiii.s  tlieir  number.  Tn  some 
favoral)le  situations,  the  eutcliing  of  fish  supplied  more 
ahundant  food,  and  this  art  and  industry  was  probably 
practised  as  soon  as  that  of  hunting.  But  it  is  ahnost  as 
uncertain  in  its  results. 

The  rearing  of  domesticated  animals  to  furnish  men 
with  food  requires  far  less  territory  than  the  hunter 
needs  to  supply  him  with  game,  and  it  is  a  far  more 
reliable  resource.  But  we  know  not  when,  where,  or 
under  what  circumstances  men  made  this  first  great  step 
in  bettering  their  condition,  or  what  animal  they  first 
reduced  to  servitude.  On  the  other  hand,  we  know  that 
some  races  of  men  failed  to  make  this  progressive  step 
where  it  was  fully  within  their  power. 

The  hunting  tribes  of  North  America  derived  a  large 
part  of  their  living  from  the  slaughter  of  whole  herds  of 
the  bison.  Yet  there  is  no  record  of  their  ever  having 
even  attempted  to  domesticate  this  animal,  which  might 
have  supplied  the  place  of  the  bull  and  cow  of  the  old 
continent,  and  thus  have  enabled  them  to  enter  on  a  prof- 
itable industry,  on  which  they  might  have  built  np  a 
civilization.  The  bison  has  been  reared  in  servitude,  as 
an  experiment.  It  furnishes  beef,  milk,  butter,  cheese, 
hides,  etc.,  but  being,  on  the  whole,  less  useful  than  the 
common  cow,  nothing  is  gained  by  breeding  them. 

It  is  yet  more  strange  that  the  Mexicans,  who,  if  we 
can  believe  the  historians  who  have  searched  into  their 
antiquities,  had  made  great  progress  in  many  high  and 
ingenious  arts,  under  the  greatest  disadvantages ;  who 
had  cultivated  a  literature,  made  progress  in  systematic 
legislation,  and  built  up  a  complicated  civilization — yet 
they  allowed  the  bison,  which  was   within  their  reach, 


mmmmmmm 


24 


il 


probably,  in  the  winter  season,  within  their  territories, 
to  continue  roving  wild  over  the  length  of  the  conti- 
nent, without  making  any  attempt  to  tame  them.  The 
only  animal  mentioned  by  historians  as  tamed  and  reared 
in  Mexico,  under  its  ancient  and  puzzling  civilization — 
was  the  turkey. 

We  might  have  been  tempted  to  class,  among  the  in- 
stincts of  the  human  race,  a  propensity  to  domesticate 
inferior  animals,  did  we  not  know  that  some  .races  of 
men  never  attempted  it,  or,  at  least,  never  succeeded  in 
it,  under  circumstances  apparently  favoring  success. 
Some  countries,  indeed,  afforded  no  animal,  or,  at  least, 
no  quadruped,  suitable  to,  and  profitable  in,  servitude. 
The  Australian  could  hardly  have  tamed  and  reared  flocks 
of  the  kangaroo. 


I . 


XL 


It  is  likely  that  the  first  animal  any  wliere  tamed  was 
the  dog.  It  must  have  often  happened  that  the  hunter 
caught  alive  the  young  of  wild  animals ;  and  sometimes 
he  would  bring  them  home  unharmed.  Among  these, 
the  young  of  the  dog  was  easily  tamed,  feeding  on  the 
refuse  of  the  family  meal,  and  becoming  the  pet  of  the 
children.  He  would  promptly  attach  himself  to  the 
household,  and  his  useful  qualities  soon  show  themselves. 
He  becomes  a  vigilant  sentinel  and  incorruptible  guardian 
over  the  family  and  their  property.  His  propensity  to 
hunt  after  game,  and  his  keen  scent  in  tracing  its  foot- 
steps, render  him  soon  an  invaluable  ally  to  the  hunter. 

But  the  domestication  of  the  dog  was  not  tlie  begin- 
ning of  pastoral  life.  It  merely  facilitated  man's  en- 
trance on  that  occupation  ;  the  dog  aiding  his  master  to 


35 


catch  and  keep  other  animals  more  fit  to  compose  the 
Hock  mid  the  herd.  Men  did  not  rear  dogs  to  supply 
tliuiiiselves  with  food — although,  in  some  countries,  the 
(log  became  an  occasional  article  of  diet ;  and  it  has  hap- 
pened, at  times,  that  a  hunting  tribe,  reduced  to  extreme 
want,  have  eaten  their  dogs,  in  a  vain  effort  to  escape 
starvation. 

It  is  likely  that  many  haphazard  trials  were  made  by 
primitive  men  to  domesticate  animals,  before  they  foimd 
out  what  species  were  most  fit  for  it,  in  each  part  of  the 
M'orld,  most  easily  reared  and  kept ;  and  most  useful  as 
food,  and  for  other  purposes.  In  some  countries  the 
range  of  choice  was  very  narrow.  The  camel,  in  the 
more  sterile  parts  of  Arabia,  the  reindeer,  in  Lapland, 
and  the  llama,  in  Peru,  found  there  no  rivals.  In  more 
favored  countries  and  climates,  we  know  that  the  sheep, 
tlie  goat,  the  cow,  the  swine,  the  ass,  and  then  the  horse, 
fell  under  man's  control  at  very  early  dates. 

As  soon  as  men  became  shepherds  and  herdsmen  their 
condition,  resources,  and  habits  underwent  great  changes 
and  improvements.  Hunting  ceased  to  be  their  necessary 
and  almost  daily  toil,  and  became  only  their  occasional 
sport.  But  as  long  as  wild  game  is  to  be  found  they 
never  give  up  the  pursuit  of  it. 

Still,  the  possession  of  flocks  and  herds  revolutionized 
their  condition.  The  proprietary  rights  of  individuals 
now  extended  beyond  that  over  dead  game,  to  the  pos- 
session of  many  living  animals,  and  to  the  right  of  free 
pasturage  for  their  herds.  But  the  necessity  of  following 
their  flocks  on  a  change  of  pasture  compelled  them  to 
live  in  tents,  and  they  did  not  then  claim  permanent 
property  in  any  fixed  domicil. 

Having  now  a  steady  and  comparatively  certain  supply 


if 


■!fiff?^eMHmiLJUuiL.,a.ii  i 


!l|ti!| 


:ii!! 


I 


of  food,  not  only  in  tlie  ilesli  of  their  lierds,  but  in  the 
milli  and  its  proceeds,  men  could  congregate  together, 
uniting  in  large  tribes.  The  more  ample  leisure  and 
more  abundant  materials  at  their  hands,  led  to  the  im- 
provement of  known  arts,  and  to  the  invention  of  others 
hitherto  unpractised. 

The  very  need  of  seeking  fresh  pastures  from  the  ex- 
haustion of  that  in  their  neighborhood,  or  from  the 
change  of  season,  habituated  them  to  moving  in  a  body, 
with  all  their  possessions  around  them,  and  fully  prepared 
for  a  long  march.  This  taught  them  the  need  of  order 
and  method  in  their  common  movements,  and  formed  the 
tribe  into  an  organized  body-politic,  recognizing  the 
guidance  of  one  head. 

On  becoming  shepherds  and  herdsmen,  men  made  a 
vast  stride  forward  in  social,  political,  and  military  or- 
ganization. For  this  aggregation  of  herdsmen  into  one 
body,  often  on  the  move  in  search  of  wide  and  fertile 
pastures,  consisted  of  men  trained  to  the  use  of  weapons 
in  hunting  and  in  tlie  defense  of  their-flocks.  And  the 
command  of  tlie  speed  and  strength  of  the  horse  had 
now  added  greatly  to  the  ease  and  celerity  of  their  move- 
ments. Tlie  habitual  organization  of  society  was  now 
like  that  of  a  corps  cVarmee  already  in  the  field,  with  its 
chief  at  its  head,  and  its  magazines  and  its  commissariat 
close  at  hand.  Under  able,  enterprising,  and  aggressive 
leaders,  these  restless  nomads  have  often  been  method- 
ically united  into  vast  hordes,  which,  abandoning  their 
native  steppes  in  a  mass,  a  migrating  nation,  have  many 
a  time  revolutionized  the  political  and  social  condition  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  old  world  ;  overrunning,  •^'ubduing, 
and,  at  times,  exterminating,  almost  extirpating,  the  pre- 
vious population.  .  {See  Institutes  of  Timour.)  But  these 
devastating  marches  are  foreign  to  our  present  inquiry. 


27 


XII. 


!S  -». 


!  JBRARY.^) 


Great  as  were  the  results  of  this  adojition  of  pastoral 
industry  as  a  settled  means  of  living,  it  did  not  enable 
men  to  reap  the  full  profits  of  the  bounties  of  Nature. 
Although  pastoral  hordes  formed  multitudes,  vast  when 
compared  with  the  small  and  scattered  tribes  of  hunters, 
they  were  yet  but  a  sparse  population  in  comparison  with 
that  wliicli  the  soil  of  the  earth  could  provide  for. 

The  culture  of  the  soil  was  the  next  great  step  made 
by  men  ;  thus  bettering  their  condition,  by  increasing 
their  supply  of  food,  and  the  certainty  of  it.  And  this 
change  in  occupation  and  industry  brought  many  unfore- 
seen consequences  and  benefits,  and  also  some  evils,  in  its 
train. 

We  are  quite  as  ignorant  when,  where,  and  with 
whom,  agiiculture  and  {irboriculture  originated,  as  we 
are  as  to  who  was  the  first  hunter,  fisher,  or  herdsman. 
Was  it  in  some  sheltered  valley,  highly  favored  in  soil 
and  climate,  and  abounding  in  fruits  that  supply  man's 
wants— that  agricultural  industry  took  its  rise?  That  is 
not  likely. 

It  probably  began  under  very  difl^erent  conditions.  It 
is  not  in  the  midst  of  the  plenty  of  Nature's  providing, 
that  man  originated  the  attempt  to  produce,  by  art,  a  yet 
greater  abundance.  His  whole  liistory  proves  the  con- 
trary. The  improvidence  of  mankind,  in  the  mass,  is 
nowhere  better  exemplified  than  in  their  deahngs  with  the 
soil,  and  with  whatever  spontaneously  springs  from  the 
soil.  In  every  country  and  age,  one  of  the  marked  modes 
in  which  men  have  exercised  their  activity  and  industry, 
is  the  destruction  of  the  forest  wherever  it  has  covered 


i 


^i 


Mi 


i  ■ 


lit  •>  I 

ill  I  Hi 


I  ■■ 


}  1 


(i 

!     i 

;  i 

4 

i     1 

1           1 

'           1 

\     \ 

1 

i 

!  1 

i 

28 


the  country.     A  living  tree  found  no  value  in  their  eyes 
until  it  became  a  rarity. 

A  striking  example  of  this  propensity  to  destruction  is 
afforded  by  the  conduct  of  the  Portuguese  navigators,  sent 
out  on  voyages  of  discovery,  early  in  the  fifteenth  cent- 
ury, by  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal. 

"  Madeira  (the  Portuguese  name  for  wood)  was  cov- 
ered with  dense  forests.  This  lovely  and  fertile  island 
had,  doubtless,  a  people  and  a  name  of  its  own ;  but  they 
have  passed  away,  and  the  footsteps  of  the  civilized  dis- 
coverers have  obliterated  every  trace  of  the  aborigines. 
The  first  act  of  the  adventurers  was  to  set  fire  to  the 
dense  forests,  which  fed  a  conflagration  which  was  not 
fairly  extinguished  for  many  years  ;  and  when  the  virgin 
soil  was  fully  exposed,  colonization  was  successfully 
established."* 

So  elsewhere,  when  the  forest  is  laid  low,  men  begin 
to  lament  its  utter  destruction ;  and  perhaps  some  feeble 
efforts  are  made,  here  and  there,  to  restore  it.  Again, 
when  men  had  made  some  progress  in  agriculture,  they, 
in  every  age  and  country,  cropped  their  fields  until  they 
became  too  much  impoverished  to  produce  crops  that 
paid  for  the  labor  bestowed  on  them.  Then  they  felled 
the  adjacent  forest,  or  inclosed  the  prairie  to  sow  new 
fields,  to  undergo  the  same  process  of  utter  exhaustion. 
It  is  not  uiitil  there  is  no  fresh  soil  fit  for  cultivation, 
that  they  make  any  attempt  to  recuperate  the  acres  their 
own  improvidence  and  want  of  skill  have  rendered  utter- 
ly barren. 

other  examples  of  man's  improvidence,  for  himself, 
and  yet  more,  for  his  kind,  are  seen  in  the  sweeping 
destruction  of  game ;  as  in  the  wholesale  slaughter  of  the 

*  Spry's  Cruise  of  tlie  Challenger,  p.  26. 


29 


American  bison  (now  rapidly  disappearing),  often  kilk'd 
only  for  tlieir  tongues  and  tlieir  robes ;  in  the  ntter  exhaus- 
tion of  some  fisheries,  as  the  salmon  fisheries  in  British 
rivers  and  elsewhere,  wherever  they  are  free  to  all  men. 
Such  resources  are  gradually  yet  utterly  lost  to  all.  unless 
it  be  prohibited  to  kill  game  on  another  man's  land,  and 
to  catch  fish  in  another  man's  waters. 

For  such  reasons  we  think  that  agriculture  did  not 
originate  in  what  afterward  proved  to  be  the  most  pro- 
ductive fields.  It  probably  took  its  rise  under  very  dif- 
ferent conditions. 

Perhaps  some  primitive  savage,  driven  by  the  scarcity 
of  game  and  of  fruits,  sought  some  convenient  water- 
side in  order  to  provide  for  his  family  by  fishing.  There 
he  constructs  a  rude  shelter  for  them,  or  improves  some 
natural  cave  near  at  hand,  as  a  more  sheltered  and  safer 
refuge.  He  now  maintains  them  by  fishiniJ".  But  in  bet- 
ter times  he  was  a  man  of  the  woods;  c".nd  retains  a  crav- 
ing after  the  forest  and  its  productions.  Should  he 
observe,  near  his  hut  or  cave,  some  tree  of  a  kind  that 
liad  often  yielded  him  fruit,  to  satisfy  his  hunger,  or  to 
slake  his  thirst  (perchance  the  cocoa-nut  palm),  it  will  re- 
call to  him  pleasing  memories  of  the  past.  He  will  not 
hack  it  down  with  his  fiint  hatchet,  but  will  go  further 
to  seek  his  fuel.  Should  the  tree  bear  abundantly  in 
season,  as  fruit  trees  standing  alone,  not  crowded  by 
other  trees,  are  apt  to  do,  he  will  learn  to  value  it  and 
protect  it  from  injury,  even  by  his  own  family.  Pie  and 
liis  have  become  interested  in  the  preservation  of  a  tree. 
And  this  is  the  first  step  toward  arboriculture,  which,  it 
is  likely,  preceded  agriculture. 

cain :  some  projecting  point  on  the  bank  of  a  river,  of 


li^ 


Agai 
a  bay,  or  an  arm  of  the  sea,  may  afford  especial  facilities 


!F     li 


!     i 


m 


Hill- 


\i. . 


I 

1 
11 

jo 

fi     ' 

1 
-1 

jiji; 

if   ' 

no 

for  catching  fish  ;  and  thus,  in  time,  attract  a  concourse  of 
those  engaged  in  that  industry.  Tlie  earlier  settlers, 
needing  some  space  for  drying  and  curing  their  fish,  for 
spreading  out  their  nets  and  fishing  tackle,  for  keep- 
ing their  fuel,  and  to  give  elbow-room  to  their  families 
while  at  work,  would  inclose  with  stakes,  and  stockade, 
a  space  much  beyond  that  covered  by  their  huts.  And 
each  new-comer  would  hasten  to  follow  their  example. 
These  fishing  villages  originated  maritime  towns  and 
cities. 

Living  chiefly  on  a  monotonous  diet  of  fish,  these-  peo- 
ple would  feel  a  craving  for  finiit  and  edible  roots,  and 
make  excursions  into  the  country  around  to  get  thetn  ; 
some  the  produce  of  annual,  others  of  perennial,  plants. 
After  the  fruit  had  been  eaten,  the  seeds  and  stones 
would  be  thown  aside  within  the  incilosure,  already 
manured  and  enriched  by  the  refuse  of  the  fishery.  In 
the  spring  many  of  these  seeds  would  germinate,  some  of 
them  in  places  and  corners  out  of  harm's  way. 

In  a  fishing  village  little  of  vegetation  would  be  seen. 
What  sprung  up  would  attract  the  eye.  Some  one, 
among  these  rude  fishermen,  more  observant  than  the 
others,  would  recognize  the  young  plants  springing  up 
from  the  seeds  of  the  fruit  he  had  eaten.  lie  might 
charge  his  children  not  to  harm  them  ;  he  might  even 
take  the  trouble  to  pull  up  the  weeds  cramping  their 
growth. 

Here  is  a  rude  experiment  in  horticulture,  which  will 
yield  some  fruit ;  and  more  than  that,  it  v/ill  germinate 
a  priceless  idea,  the  most  prolific  that  ever  entered  the 
mind  of  man.  This  experiment  will  slowly  grow  into 
an  art  and  an  industry.  In  time  this  little  inclosure  will 
be  enlarged  into   a  garden.     As  the  art  of  cultivation 


4 


■L;'iV>i 


31 


inakcs  progress,  other  persons,  perhaps  strangers  coming 
to  the  viUage  to  procure  tish,  observing  tliis  primitive 
cultuie,  will  seek  to  imitate  it.  If  they  live  where  the 
land  is  unoccupied  and  the  soil  fertile,  they  will  be  led 
in  time  to  expand  their  gardens  into  farms,  adding  acre 
to  acre,  fencing  out  wild  animals  and  tame  flochs,  if  any 
be  yet  near  them  ;  they  will  add  the  culture  of  other 
plants  to  that  of  those  with  which  the  art  began,  thus 
gradually  grafting  a  new  creation  on  IS^ature's,  by  arfili- 
cially  multiplying  and  improving  on  her  products.  For 
several  kinds  of  corn-producing  plants,  and,  we  believe, 
some  that  bear  fruits,  have  been  so  much  changed  and  im- 
proved by  cultivation,  that  botanists  cannot  now  point  out 
from  what  wild  species  they  sprung. 

At  length  somebody  invented  the  plow,  and  yoked  the 
ox  to  it.  Then  it  only  needed  time,  enterprise,  and 
experience  to  expand  this  art  and  industry,  from  the 
primitive  system  of  agriculture,  into  the  means,  in  future 
generations,  of  feeding  and  multiplying  mankind  to  num 
bers  beyond  the  conception  of  their  hunting,  fishing,  and 
pastoral  forefathers. 

XIII. 


Man  is  not  an  amphibious  animal.  He  is,  indeed,  one 
of  the  few  animals,  and  the  only  one  of  the  mammalia, 
which  cannot  swim.  Their  swimming  is  instinctive. 
AVith  man  it  is  an  art.  Man's  natural  aptitude  for 
acquiring  it  varies  greatly,  chiefly,  we  believe,  because  the 
specific  gravity  of  individuals  varies  much. 

But  want  early  drove  men  to  the  water's  edge,  and  into, 
and  at  length  on,  the  water.  They  found  in  the  vast 
body  of  water,  fresh  and  salt,  a  liberal  and  often   abun- 


i 


!  i 


I   ■» 


. 
I 


i   U" 


dant  supply  for  their  most  pressing  needs.  Indeed,  not 
only  tlie  great  waters,  but  in  most  countries,  the  borders 
of  the  sea,  and  of  the  water-courses,  are  the  regions  most 
abounding  in  animal  life. 

Many  primitive  tribes  seem  to  have  derived  their  sub- 
sistence chiefly  from  the  shell-fish  they  gathered.  In 
many  parts  of  the  world  are  found  mounds  composed 
mostly  of  the  shells  of  oysters,  clams,  and  other  iiiollusca, 
which  have  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  Are.  It  must 
have  required  many  generations,  nay,  centuries  of  hungry 
savages,  to  gather  them. 

On  the  coast  of  Denmark  some  of  these  mounds,  of 
large  area,  but  of  little  elevation,  have  been  carefully 
explored,  and  revealed  much  as  to  the  h?bits  of  pre-his- 
toric  man.  We  have  seen  a  somewliat  similar  mound  on 
the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  twenty-four  miles  northeast 
of  Charleston,  close  to  a  landing  on  one  of  a  labyrinth 
of  creeks,  leading  through  a  great  salt  marsh,  into  a 
large  bay.  The  country-people  around  called  this  mound 
the  "Old  Indian  Fort,"  it  being  a  circular  ring  mound, 
inclosing  a  lower  area.  It  is  made  up  of  the  shells 
of  oysters  and  clams,  showing  marks  of  fire.  Had 
a  tribe  of  savages,  living  solely  on  these  shell-fish, 
habitually  seated  themselves  around  their  fires,  roasting 
the  oyvsters  and  clams,  and,  after  eating  the  muscles, 
thrown  away  the  shells  from  the  assembled  company 
with  vigorous  arm,  they  might,  in  the  course  of  genera- 
tions or  centuries,  have  piled  up  just  such  a  circular 
mound  as  this. 

But  primitive  man  was  making  some  progress  in  the  arts, 
which  were  to  raise  him  above  the  necessity  of  living  on 
shell- fish.  One  of  them  at  length  invented  the  barbed 
spear,  or  harpoon  ;  another  the  fish-hook,  and  the  line ; 


83 


then  another,  the  net  or  the  seine ;  and,  near  the  sea  and 
great  rivers,  fish  gradually  hecame  the  chief  diet. 

Some  observant  fishernian  at  length  perceived  that  to 
stand  on  the  shore,  or  even  knee-deep  in  the  water,  was 
not  the  best  point  for  taking  fisli.  Tlie  larger  number 
and  the  larger  lish  would  keep  in  deep  water,  out  of  his 
reacli ;  and,  to  the  hungry  savage,  the  larger  the  better 
the  Hsli. 

Some  uprooted  tree,  with  tlie  trunk  stretched  out  and 
floating  on  tlie  stream,  afforded  him  a  stand,  from  which 
the  deeper  water  would  be  accessible  to  his  hook  and 
line.  In  his  anxiety  to  increase  his  catchings,  he  at  last 
liit  upon  the  lucky  tliought  that  a  few  dry  and  buoyant 
logs,  lashed  together  with  vines,  would  sustain  his  weight 
on  the  water ;  and  with  a  pole  he  might  push  it  to  the 
deep  places  where  the  fish  were  larger  and  more  abun- 
dant. His  slowly  awakened  ingenuity  thus  devised  the 
fishing  raft,  which,  in  a  generation  or  two,  is  improved 
into  the  cata?7iaran ,'  whicli  is  displaced  in  time  by  the 
more  handy  canoe.  The  fisherman  is  now  on  the  way  to 
become  a  mariner,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  some  gener- 
ations or  centuries,  fleets  for  commerce  and  for  war  be- 
gin to  furrow  the  surface  of  the  sea. 


XTV. 


Perhaps  not  one  of  these  marvellous  changes  in  man's 
habits  and  pursuits  was  the  result  of  any  great  effort  of 
invention.  A  number  of  casual  observations  of  I^ature, 
and  of  special  contingencies  around  him ;  some  small 
efforts  of  ingenuity ;  some  lucky  accident  revealing  to  him 
a  new  fact,  a  new  material,  or  some  jdiysical  law  before 


84 


'  I 


I  I! 


'  i 


mm 

il 

■III 

li; 


unknown  to  him,  led  step  by  step  to  the  invention  and 
improvement  of  all  tlie  arts  practised  by  mankind. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  enumerate  all  the  contrivances 
in  common  use  whicli  we  owe  to  the  imitation  of  Nature's 
mechanism  alone.  For  example :  the  hin<^es  on  which 
our  doors  turn.  They  are  a  clever  contrivance.  Who 
invented  it  ?    No  man. 

A  long  time  ago  (the  date  is  not  recorded)  an  epicure 
was  dining  luxuriously  on  sea  crabs.  When  he  had  sated 
himself  with  this  rich  food,  being  an  observant  man,  he 
examined  minutely  the  ingenious  and  eifectual  way  in 
which  the  large  claws  of  the  crab  were  united  at  the 
articulating  joint  to  the  limb  that  supported  them.  Ilis 
observation  of  these  sockets  led  to  the  adoption  of  the 
principle  of  the  hinge  to  man's  use,  with  many  modifi- 
cations. So  man's  tirst  lesson  in  sewing  was  learned  from 
the  tailor-bird,  which  neatly  sews  the  edges  of  leaves  to- 
gether to  conceal  its  nest.  The  net  to  take  fish  was 
copied  from  the  spider's  web  to  catch  flies.  The  burrow- 
ing animals  taught  useful  lessons  in  well-digging  and 
mining ;  and  the  wonderful  constru'^.tive  instincts  of  the 
beaver  afforded  valuable  sugo-estions  in  the  art  of  dam- 
ming  streams  and  building  huts. 

So  in  pottery.  I  hav3  taken  from  tlie  surface  of  what 
had  been  a  clay  puddle,  but  now  dried  up  by  the  sum- 
mer's sun,  large  pieces  of  fine  clay  of  moderate  and  equa- 
ble thickness,  smooth  on  the  upper  side,  .which  curved 
up  like  the  inner  surface  of  a  hollow  sphere.  All  to  whom 
I  showed  these  pieces  mistook  them  for  fragments  of  un- 
baked pottery.  Such  pieces  of  clay,  accidentally  exposed 
to  the  action  of  fire,  revealed  the  virtues  of  clay  and  the 
potter's  art  to  primitive  man. 

Again,  flints  and  some  other  kinds  of  hard  stone,  skill- 


35 


fully  fractured,  furnished  man  with  his  first  edge-tools. 
By  accident,  one  had  occasion  to  make  a  hot  tire  among 
some  fragments  of  metalliferous  rock>i.  After  the  fire 
had  gone  out,  on  stirring  the  ashes  looking  for  a  live  coal, 
he  found,  instead,  some  pieces  of  a  bright,  hard,  smooth, 
shining  substance,  of  a  reddish  color  and  of  great  weight, 
melted  into  various  shapes.  He  had  found  copper^  ])er- 
liaps,  as  often  liappens,  amalgamated  with  tin.  This  is 
bronze^  an  alloy,  in  its  tool-making  qualities  inferior 
only  to  steel.  He  perceived  that  the  tire  had  extracted 
it  out  of  the  rocks,  and  melted  it  into  these  various 
shapes;  and  he  slowly  applies  these  lessons  from  Nature 
to  useful  ends  of  his  own. 

For,  in  spite  of  his  necessities,  primitive  man's  nar- 
row range  of  observation  and  experience  make  him  a 
very  slow  inventor.  We  must  not  forget  that  invent- 
ing means,  at  first,  finding  out  by  accident  or  chance  ; 
later,  it  may  mean,  by  experiment.  And  tj^at  every  step 
in  the  improvement  of  an  art  lends  itself  to  the  promotion 
of  other  arts. 

Yet  we  know  that  this  last  remark  has  not  proved  of 
universal  application  to  mankind.  Men  of  every  race 
have  acquired  the  rudiments,  at  least,  of  several  arts.  Yet 
only  a  few  of  these  races  have  succeeded  in  extending 
and  improving  the  arts,  so  as  to  raise  themselves  to  a 
state  of  civilization,  or  even  semi-civilization.  The  depths 
of  savagery  is,  perhaps,  represented  by  the  rude  fishing 
tribes  found  by  Nearchus,  Alexander's  admiral,  on  his 
voyage  from  the  Indies  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  These 
tribes  eat  their  fish  raw,  not  having  yet  learned  the  use 
of  fire.  We  do  not  feel  called  upon,  and  will  not  at- 
tempt to  explain  the  causes  of  these  differences  in  races. 
Our  inquiry  refers  to  those  races  onlj  which  have  proved 
themselves  capable  of  civilization. 


,4i 


■t!l! 


1 

il 

1 

h 

I 


36 


XV. 


In  the  most  ])rimitivu  condition  of  Hociety,  each  fiunilj 
nniHt  not  only  have  profiired  tlieir  own  food,  ])nt  made, 
witli  their  own  handH,  all  the  arms,  implements,  ntensils, 
and  clothino^  they  needed.  This  manufacture  for  the 
supply  of  all  their  wants  may  have  continued  lon<^  after 
the  habits  and  occu[)ations  of  different  tribes  had  varied 
greatly,  to  suit  the  character  of  the  different  ])arts  of  the 
country  in  which  each  tribe  chanced  to  settle.  But  this 
was  not  destined  to  continue. 

The  inclination  to  barter  seems  to  bean  insfinctiinnan. 
If  it  be  an  instinct,  it  is  one  ])eculiar  to  man  ;  for  no  other 
animal  exhibits  it.  Yet  the  first  hunter  may  have  bar- 
tered to  the  first  tisher  some  of  his  game  for  some  of  the 
other's  tish.  We  cannot  conceive  of  a  state  of  society  so 
rude  and  primitive  that  barter  was  unknown  in  it. 

Special  cireum stances  must  soon  have  induced  some 
persons  to  devote  themselves  to  special  industries,  with  a 
view  to  l)arter  their  products  for  what  they  needed  more. 
Grecian  mythology  tells  us  that  lame  Vulcan,  unable  to 
rival  his  a(?tive  fellow  gods  in  their  enterprises,  sports, 
and  pastimes,  turned  smith  ;  and,  shutting  himself  up  in 
his  workshop,  employed  himself  in  forging  weapons 
and  armgr  for  Mars,  thunder-bolts  for  Jupiter,  and  in  the 
contrivance  of  otlier  choice  samples  of  his  craft.  He  was 
the  first  artisan.  So,  ])erhaps,  some  hunter,  disabled 
by  permanent  injuries  from  returning  to  the  pursuit  of 
the  game  on  which  he  had  hitherto  lived,  devoted  his 
time  to  the  making  of  weapons  and  other  implements,  in 
exchange  for  which  the  hunter  and  the  fisher  would 
barter  a  part  of  their  spoils.  In  short,  prompted  by 
some  special  a])titnde,  or  urgent  necessity,  or  facilitating 


37 


circniiintaiK'Ort,  individiuilH  begun,  at  very  early  dates,  to 
give  tliciiiselvcs  to  Hpecial  industries  Pi  a  means  of  earn- 
ing a  living. 

The  disabled  Ininter  of  primitive  times  would,  by 
practice  and  observation,  ac(piire  i^ecidiar  skill  in  making 
th'j  lance,  the  harpoon,  the  bow,  and  tlie  arrow  ;  and  all  his 
tribe  become  eager  to  get  weapons  of  his  make.  Or  the 
making  of  pottery  miglit  become  his  art,  and  the  work  of 
his  hands  be  in  constant  demand. 

Some  parts  of  a  country  abound  in  materials  and  facil- 
ities for  the  production  of  one  or  more  commodities, 
genei'ally  useful  and  much  needed  in  other  ])laces  not  far 
remote.  Take  common  salt,  for  instance,  which  abounds 
in  some  phices,  and  is  utterly  wanting  in  others.  Some 
persons  would  soon  be  induced  to  employ  themselves  in 
preparing  salt ;  and  others,  elsewhere,  needing  salt,  will 
make  some  articles  of  general  utility,  the  materials  for 
which  abound  in  their  neighborhood,  in  order  to  barter 
them  for  salt. 

Here,  then,  are  articles  made  for  sale,  which  is  manu- 
facturing; and  articles  exchanged  for  others,  which  is 
barter,  or  primitive  trade.  As  this  manufacture  and  ex- 
change of  commodities  increases,  there  springs  up  a  class 
of  persons  who  make  a  business  of  procuring  from  the 
producers  some  of  their  goods,  and  carrying  them  to  the 
places  where  they  are  most  wauted,  to  barter  or  sell  them 
there  for  more  tlian  they  gave  for  them. 

Soon  some  convenient  and  portable  commodity  comes 
into  use  as  a  measure  of  value.  In  time  this  becomes 
silver  or  gold,  as  most  convenient.  As  almost  every  part 
of  the  country,  indeed  of  the  world,  has  some  peculiar  ad- 
vantages for  producing  some  commodity  wanted  else- 
wliere,  commerce  extends  its  operations,  remote  regions 


m 


rr 


38 


JiilliE  'lii 


i! 


come  into  intercourse  with  each  other,  new  con- 
veniences, coiriforts,  and  arts  are  widely  disseminated  ; 
and  by  greater  intercourse  of  man  with  men,  knowledge 
of  all  kinds  is  increased. 

As  men  multiply  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  new  wants 
are  generated,  new  arts  are  invented,  and  knowledge  in- 
creases ;  a  greater  variety  of  employments  become  opened 
to  men.  Tiie  advantages  and  necessity  of  the  division  of 
labor  become  fully  understood,  and  more  practised  con- 
tinually. To  the  original  occupations  of  men,  first  hunt- 
ing and  fishing,  then  pastoral  life,  then  farming,  are 
now  added  various  occupations  in  the  different  branches 
of  manufacture,  commerce,  and  employments  that  call  for 
professional  and  scientific  skill;  and  also  more  yet  in 
manual  arts,  and  more  still  in  unskilled  labor.  In  each 
of  these,  many  men  seek  to  provide  for  themselves  and 
their  families,  by  selling  their  productions,  or  their  serv- 
ices. 

Thus  society  becomes  a  very  complex  body.  A  great 
variety  of  rights,  relations,  interests,  and  obligations  are 
now  generated,  and  spring  up  among  the  members  of 
the  community  ;  and  a  more  comprehensive  and  complex 
system  of  laws  becomes  needed  to  protect  their  riglits,  and 
to  adjust  tlie  relations  of  individuals  with  each  other.  The 
law  finds  full  employment,  not  in  creating  rightii,  but  in 
protecting  rights  which  have  naturally  grown  into  ex- 
istence. 


XVI. 

Wk  find  proofs  of  the  existence  of  manufacturing  in- 
dustry on  a  large  scale  ;  and  indications  of  extended  com- 
mercial intercourse  at  a  date  when  prehistoric  man  had 


89 


f'l; 


and  the  use  of 


of  the 


not  yet  discovered  the  nature  and  tlie  use  ot  any  one 
metals.  Geologists  and  archaeologists,  searching  for  traces 
of  primitive  man,  have  found  in  the  middle  of  France,  near 
Tours,  and  elsewhere,  evidence  of  the  existence  and  long 
continued  manufacture  of  flint-tools  and  weapons :  hatch- 
ets, knives,  chisels,  saws,  lance-heads,  arrow  points,  etc. 
The  accumulation  of  those  implements,  near  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  over  a  large  area,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Tours,  was  immense.  Over  20,000  specimens  were  dug 
up  in  a  few  weeks.  True,  nearly  all  of  these  were  broken, 
or  defective.  The  explanation  of  this  latter  fact  proves 
the  immejisity  of  the  manufacture.  The  articles  success- 
fully finished  had  been  disseminated  over  a  wide  region 
of  country  in  extended  and  long  continued  traffic. 
Archaeologists  think  tliar  they  have  traced  tools  from  this 
factory  as  far  as  Belgium.  Those  left  behind  in  such 
numbers  are  only  the  failures  in  the  process  of  manu- 
facture.'^ 

This  and  other  exam*ples  show  us  how  early  men  had 
recourse  to  the  division  of  labor,  some  giving  their  whole 
time  to  making  articles  for  sale  or  barter,  others  trans- 
porting these  articles  to  remote  points  for  the  purpose  of 
trade.  And  so  it  was  in  other  occupations.  Among  the 
growing  multitudes  of  men  most  persons  had  soon,  each, 
to  adopt  some  special  form  of  industry  to  earn  his  living. 


It  I!] 


l-'^ll 


'A 


I 


;■ 


XYII. 

We  have  been  at  pains  to  trace  some  of  the  steps 
men  must  have  taken  in  their  progress  toward  civ- 
ilization.     Men  are  born  into  societv.     It  is  throu^rh  his 


*L'Hommp  Primitive,  par  Louis  Figuier,  pp.  171  et  243-(5, 


Iiiii  iiii 


illlHIII 


M;;| 


40 


domestic  and  social  instincts  that  he  is  enabled  to  im- 
prove his  condition.  Yet  all  human  progress  and  im- 
provement sprinj^  from  the  efforts  of  individuals,  and  in 
most  cases,  of  those  especially  gifted  by  nature.  And, 
through  social  intercourse,  this  progress  and  improvement 
is  communicated  to  otliers  less  gifted  than  themselves. 

Numerous  have  been  the  successive  steps,  with  long 
intervals  between  them,  by  which  even  the  most  gifted 
races  of  men  have  risen  from  primitive  barbarism  to  the 
highest  civilization  yet  reached.  And  every  one  of  these 
steps  has  been  prompted  by  the  enterprise,  ingenuity,  and 
industry  of  some  individual. 

The  invention  of  each  weapon,  used  by  the  most  primi- 
tive hunting  tribe,  they  owe  to  some  one  man  ;  the  con- 
trivance of  the  fish-hook,  the  net,  and  of  every  device 
for  catching  iish,  each  has  a  similar  origin.  Some  par- 
ticular man  iirst  domesticated  the  dog,  and  drew  atten- 
tion to  those  instincts  and  traits  which  render  him  an  in- 
valuable and  incorruptible  servant  and  ally  to  his  master. 
Some  other  man  first  tamed  one  or  other  of  those  ruminat- 
ing animals  so  peculiarly  adapted  to  man's  uses — the  sheep, 
the  goat,  the  cow,  the  camel,  and  others — thus  prepar- 
ing the  way,  amidst  the  growing  scarcity  of  game,  thinned 
by  constant  slaughter,  for  the  first  great  change  in  man's 
pursuits;  turning  the  scattered  and  starving  tribes  of 
hunters  into  more  thriving  and  more  united  bands  of 
shepherds  and  herdsmen.  It  was  the  observation  and 
thoughtful  foresight  of  an  individual  which  first  taught 
men  to  preserve  the  tree  for  its  fruit,  and  to  protect  the 
germinating  seed  for  the  sake  of  the  harvest  it  prom- 
ised. Thus  leading  tiieir  fellow  men,  step  by  step, 
toward  arboriculture,  horticulture,  and  so  to  agriculture, 
which  is  tlie  foundation  of  civilization.     The   necessities 


41 


and  practised  skill  of  aiiotlier  man  originated  the  occupa- 
tion of  manufacturinoj  what  others  wanted,  to  be  ex- 
(•lian^ed  for  what  those  otliers  had  in  an  abundance  be- 
vond  their  needs.  From  such  first  progressive  steps 
sprung  all  the  different  pursuits  of  men,  in  all  the  various 
branches  of  special  skill  and  knowledge  useful  to  their 
possessors  and  to  their  fellow  men.  These  pursuits  have 
now  become  almost  numberless,  but  there  is  not  one  of 
them  which  we  do  not  owe  to  the  inventive  facul- 
ties, enterprise,  and  industry  of  some  particular  person, 
and  its  improvements  to  others  who  have  given  special  at- 
tention to  it. 

And  yet  it  is  to  their  social  intercourse  with  each  other 
that  mankind,  in  the  aggregate,  owe  their  progress  and 
improvement  in  their  condition.  The  most  gifted  indi- 
vidual can  make  but  a  step  or  two  onward  by  liis  own  re- 
sources. 

In  this  sketch  of  man's  progress  we  can  trace  Nature's 
providence  for  men.  (In  this  inrpiiry,  in  this  agnostic 
age,  we  must  not  speak  of  God's  providence.)  Unlike 
the  brute  creation,  content  under  the  guidance  of  their 
instincts,  man  has  been  constituted  with  a  constant  crav- 
ing to  better  his  condition.  But,  then,  Nature  has  en- 
dowed him  with  faculties  which  enable  him  gradually  to 
raise  himself  above  his  primitive  state. 

By  the  further  wise  providence  of  benignant  Nature, 
each  step  that  an  individual  takes  toward  rendering  the 
gifts  of  Nature  more  available  to  liis  own  use ;  each  in- 
vention or  improvement  in  an  art,  or  in  the  attainment  of 
a  special  skill,  or  of  knowledge  hitlierto  hidden,  while  it 
may  serve  his  purpose  in  profiting  himself,  sooner  or 
later  becomes  known  to  his  neighbors,  and  in  time  its 
beneficial  results  are  accessible  to  all. 


t 


i 

1 ' 

B  j; 

T 


fi 


42 


Indeed,  it  often  happens  that  inventions,  devised  with 
a  view  to  profit,  prove  more  profitable  to  others  than  to 
tlie  inventor  himself,  his  gains  not  repaying  him  for  the 
time,  pains,  and  cost  he  had  bestowed  on  his  object.  In- 
deed, the  mere  worldly  hicre  accruing  from  genius, 
science,  wisdom,  and  learning,  to  tlie  highly-gifted  posses- 
sors of  these  eudowments  and  acquisitions,  are  as  nothing 
when  compared  with  the  benefits  derived  from  them  by 
the  multitudes  who  had  no  part  in  originating  them. 

But  mere  profit,  immediate,  direct  lucre,  is  not  the 
chief  motive  which  impels  tlie  most  highly  gifted  of 
men  to  the  exercise  of  their  special  gifts.  And  it  is  well 
that  it  should  be  so.  Before  Virgil's  day  and  since,  the 
poet,  the  artist,  and  the  inventor,  each  have  had  occasion 
to  sing,  in  YirgiFs  strain — 

HoH  ego  rersiciilos  fed,  Ittlit  aUer  honores, 
Sh  vos  non  voMs  iiidijicafia  aves, 
Sic  V08  non  vobia  rellerafertJs  oves, 
Sic  vos  non  vobis  melUficatis  apes, 
Sic  vos  non  robin  fertis  nratra  bovea 


\    liii 


!  i 


It  is  in  the  enthusiastic  exercise  of  its  powers  that  genius 
must  find  its  chief  reward.  Little  of  the  profit  which 
ultimately  accrues  from  its  productions  returns  to  re- 
ward the  teeming  brain  and  -killf ul  hand  from  which  it 
sprung. 

In  short,  all  the  progress  and  improvement  in  the  con- 
dition of  mankind  have  been  built  up  out  of  the  contri- 
butions of  individuals.  To  the  domestic  and  social  in- 
stincts of  men,  which  disseminate  these  acquisitions, 
civilization  is  due.  We  labor  to  establish  this,  in  order 
to  counteract  the  error  common  among  even  educated 
people,  that  government,  or  the  State,  as  a  creative  in- 


48 


stitution,  does,  or  can  do,  anything  directly  to  improve 
the  condition  of  men,  and  to  promote  civilization,  beyond 
providing  for  the  security  of  the  rights  of  individuals. 


XYIII. 


Mi 


h 


s  domestic  and  social  instincts  brir^ 
contact  with  society,  not  with  the  State,  or  with  the 
government.  These  latter  should  be  carefully  dis- 
tinguished from  society  ;  but  they  are  often  confounded 
with  it,  although  they  originate  from  different,  and  even 
opposite,  sources. 

By  society,  takcTi  in  its  broadest  sense,  we  mean  to  in- 
clude all  the  human  beings  within  some  given  area,  hav- 
ing domestic  or  social  relations,  or  intercourse  and  trans- 
actions with  some  of  the  others,  so  that  each  one  may  be 
directly  or  even  indirectly  affected  and  influenced,  for 
good  or  evil,  by  the  conduct  or  pursuits  of  the  others. 
The  sources  of  the  relations  which  originate  society,  are 
the  domestic  and  social  instincts  exclusively. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  State  is  merely  the  aggregation 
of  the  strength  and  resources  of  all  these  individuals  into 
a  unit,  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  each  one  of 
them.  The  State  originates,  not  from  the  social  instincts 
of  men,  but  solely  from  their  selflsh  instincts — each  one 
seeking  his  own  safety  and  the  security  of  his  individual 
riglits,  through  the  protection  hoped  for  through  the 
State.  The  government  is  merely  the  agency  organized 
i)y  the  State,  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  duty  of  protecting 
private  rights,  and  for  the  management  of  the  resources 
tlie  community  has  intrusted  to  it. 

All  that  society,  organized  into  the  State,  can  do  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  individuals  and   of   the  commu- 


m 
mk 


•'V|l 


"lllf 


I  m 


m  i!"'!! 


44 


nity  at  large,  is  to  fulfill  the  primitive  purpose  of  its  or- 
ganization— the  negative  duty  of  securing  to  each  mem- 
ber of  the  community  the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  his 
personal  and  social  rights,  and  of  tlie  results  of  his  in- 
dustry, skill,  and  economy,  by  enforcing  justice  at  home, 
and  repelling  violence  from  abroad. 

These  two  negative  duties,  of  preventing  evils,  nmst 
be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  bestowing  of  direct 
and  po«i^-'  ;  l^onefits  on  the  people  of  the  community. 
For  the  adiainistration  of  justice  at  home,  and  the  re- 
pelling violence  from  abroad,  are  exactly  the  only  two 
things  individuals  and  unorganized  society  cannot  d  »  for 
themselv.'-N 

A  general  '  .'i/  "'once  and  consciousness  of  tlie  danger 
to  the  private  rigt^t^  c  f  ( ach  one,  lead  all  men,  by  self- 
soekiiig  inst'  ic,  to  .  for  security  to  a  combination 
and  organiziition  oi  \iv.-  .  .  'u^'th  and  resources  of  all  in 
the  community,  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  each 
one ;  and  the  community  thus  becomes  a  State  —a  change 
which  by  no  means  implies  a  community  of  goods  or  of 
rights.  The  State  is  a  unit  only  for  the  protection  of 
private  rights. 

Even  those  who  may  have  taken  no  part  in  tliis  meas- 
ure of  combination,  when  they  have  suffered  wrong,  and 
are  unable  to  right  themselves,  see  the  need  of  this  com- 
bination ;  and  readily  have  recourse  h)  tlie  authorities 
representing  the  conmmnity,  whether  it  be  the  patriarchal 
chief  of  a  clan,  or  the  chiefs  of  a  tribe  in  council,  or  the 
assembled  people,  or  a  parliament,  or  a  sovereign  prince, 
or  the  courts  which  may  have  been  established  for  the 
administration  of  justice. 

Wherever  men  are  found  in  numbers,  there  will  be 
social  relations,  and  a  society,  and  possibly  all  the  blessings 


45 


society  can  bestow.  But  if  there  were  no  wrong-doers  in 
that  society,  there  would  be  no  need  of  an  agency  to  ad- 
minister justice.  If  there  were  no  foreign  enemy  to  en- 
(hmger  society  or  its  members,  there  need  be  no  State 
organization  to  resist  tlieir  attacks. 

Everything  else  that  need  be  done  in  human  society, 
can  be,  and  has  been,  better  done  by  individuals,  or,  in 
many  cases,  by  voluntary  combinations  of  them,  than  by 
any  government  whatever.  We  shall  find  occasion  to 
point  out  how  generally,  almost  universally,  govern- 
ments have  failed  to  attain  to  satisfactory  results,  when- 
ever they  have  left  the  plain  path  leading  to  their  two 
great  primary  duties — administering  justice  at  home,  and 
i-esisting  violence  from  abroad — to  take  upon  themselves 
works  of  supererogation,  under  the  guise  of  active  benefi- 
cence to  those  they  govern. 


•n 


XIX. 


We  have  referred  to  personal  and  social  rights.  Let 
us  inquire  what  is  meant  by  the  rights  of  an  individual. 

Men  being  endowed  by  nature  with  certain  powers  and 
capacities,  it  is  often  said  that  their  first  right  is  that  of 
using  their  powers  to  promote  tlieii*  own  well-being,  in 
any  way  not  hurtful  to  their  fellows. 

But  the  truth  is,  that  men,  coming  into  life  as  infants, 
live  long  years  under  the  control  of  others,  and  may 
come  under  many  binding  obligations  before  they  fully 
attain  to  the  maturity  of  the  powers  nature  has  endowed 
them  with.  Often  many  circumstances  may  justly  con- 
tinue to  trammel  their  perfect  freedom  in  the  use  of 
those  powers  exclusively  for  their  own  advancement. 


46 


•f'*- 


lilt;!  ■ 


But  even  whore  a  man  has  the  freest  use  of  his  natural 
endowments,  they  are  at  best  only  the  roots  from  which 
human  riglits  may  spring  up  and  branch  out  in  many 
directions.  They  are  capacities  rather  than  matured 
riglits.  For  the  great  mass  of  men's  rights  spring  from 
the  use  they  make  of  their  capacities.  Nature,  while  en- 
dowing men  with  certain  powers,  has  burdened  tliein 
with  certain  wants  and  appetites.  The  possession  of 
these  powers,  stimulated  by  these  appetites,  does  not 
give  him  a  riglit  to  satisfy  his  wants,  under  all  circum- 
stances, like  a  beast  of  prey. 

Even  if  we  should  say  that  the  tiger's  powers  and  ap- 
petites give  him  a  right  to  seize  upon  the  prey,  man  or 
beast,  that  comes  within  liis  reach  ;  who  will  assert  that  a 
man's  hunger  entitles  him  to  take  the  food  already  earned 
and  appropriated  by  anotlier?  or  that  his  shivering  in  the 
wintry  blast  gives  him  a  right  to  wrap  himself  up  in 
another's  cloak  or  furs  ?  or  tliat  his  unsheltered  condition 
justifies  his  forcing  his  way  into  another's  house  ? 

Nature  has  made  jDrovision,  in  the  sympathies  of  man- 
kind, for  cases  of  accidental  and  unavoidable  destitution. 
But  if  cases  of  want  gave  riglits,  charity  and  hospitality 
would  lose  their  nature  and  merit.  They  would  cease  to 
be  what  they  are.  Just  think  of  a  man  having  a  ground 
of  action  at  law  against  anotlier,  a  stranger  to  him,  for 
allowing  him  to  remain  without  food  or  clothes !  Or 
think  of  indicting  a  man  for  such  neglect  of  another,  a 
stranger  to  him,  as  a  crime  ! 


m  1'i 

'      'II; 


,1  i„ 


XX. 

Even  in  very  rude  and  primitive  states  of  society,  men 
learn  that  their  wants  are  not  the  measure  of  their  rights. 


47 


Little  troubled  as  men  commonly  are  with  scruples,  we 
sometimes  meet  with  scruples,  and  even  with  a  point  of 
honor,  where  we  little  expect  it. 

In  the  far  Northwest  of  North  xVmerica,  where  the 
improvident  aboriginal  population  are  dependent  for 
their  food  solely  on  their  success  in  hunting,  when  it  hap- 
pens, in  winter,  that  they  have  killed  more  buffalo  or 
other  game  than  they  can  consume  at  once,  or  carry  to 
their  lodges,  it  is  usual  to  select  some  suitable  spot  near 
at  hand,  and  make  what  the  French  half-breeds  call  a 
cache.  Althougli  the  term  implies  concealment,  the  Gache 
is  not  hidden,  being  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  now 
frozen  as  hard  as  rock.  The  frozen  meat  is  inclosed 
and  buried  under  a  substantial  pen  of  heavy  logs,  to 
protect  it  from  carnivorous  beasts,  as  the  wolf  and  fox. 
There  it  remains  safe  and  sound  while  the  frost  lasts,  a 
provident  store  against  a  period  of  ill  success  in  hunt- 
ing. 

It  is  a  point  of  honor,  with  these  simple  people,  to 
respect  as  sacred  these  stores,  laid  up  by  their  brother 
liunters.  If  they  themselves  become  destitute,  they  must 
seek  out  some  neighboring  lodge,  perhaps  a  day's  jour- 
ney off,  and  rely  on  the  hospitality  that  awaits  them 
there ;  and  which,  in  the  like  case,  they  feel  bound  to 
oifer  without  stint. 

In  the  narrative  of  the  "  Northwest  Passage  by  Land  " 
to  the  Pacific,  by  Viscount  Milton  and  Dr.  Cheadle,  in 
1865,  we  find  some  very  striking  instances  of  the  cus- 
toms and  of  the  heroic  abstinence  and  honesty  of  these 
rude  hunters.  After  mentioning  the  success  of  their 
own  party  in  hunting  the  buffalo  on  a  particular  occa- 
sion, the  authors  say : 

"  There  was  now  more  meat  than  we  required  at  pres- 

/ 


'^    I  ■ 


% 


'.t 


t. 


pr 


I;    , 


3*' 


■  ! 
=  il 


'I  :.:'i^ 


!       I 


48 


ent,  and  the  cache  was  therefore  left  undisturbed,  some 
given  in  charge  to  Gaijtchi  MoKkaman  (an  Indian 
hunter)."    Page  140. 

Some  weeks  after  this  tliey  mention  that  "  Two 
young  Indians,  who  had  just  arrived  from  the  plains, 
brought  a  message  from  Gaytclii  Mohhanian  to  the 
effect  that  he  would  be  compelled  to  eat  the  meat  we  had 
left  in  oaclie  if  we  did  not  fetch  it  away  immediately." 
Page  158. 

"  At  Jack  Fish  Lake  we  met  Gaytchi  MoJikaman  and 
some  Wood  Crees  of  our  ac(inaintance.  The  former 
apologized  for  eating  our  meat  in  tlie  winter,  urging  the 
dire  necessity  which  compelled  him."    Page  107. 

In  a  previous  part  of  the  narative  it  is  mentioned  : 

"  As  Cheadle  sat  over  the  tire  in  the  evening  alone,  in 
a  somewhat  dismal  mood,  the  door  was  opened,  and  in 
walked  a  Frencli  half-breed,  of  very  Indian  appearance. 
He  sat  down  and  sm  >ked,  talked  for  an  hour  or  two, 
stating  that  he  was  out  trapping,  and  that  his  lodge  and 
family  were  about  iive  miles  distant.  Cheadle  produced 
some  pemmican  for  supper,  when  the  visitor  fully  justi- 
lied  the  sohriquet  which  hi'  bore,  Mayhayyan,  or  '  the 
wolf,'  by  eating  most  voraciously.  He  then  mentioned 
that  he  had  not  tasted  food  for  two  days.  He  had  visited 
our  hut  the  day  before,  lit  a  fire,  melted  some  water  in 
the  kettle,  and  waited  some  time  in  the  hope  that  some 
one  might  come  in.  At  last  he  went  away  without 
touching  the  pemmican,  which  lay  on  the  table  ready  to 
his  hand.  This  story  was  doubtless  perfectly  true, 
agreeing  with  all  the  signs  previously  observed,  and  the 
fact  that  the  pemmican  was  uncut. 

"  With  the  pangs  of  hunger  gnawing  at  his  stomach, 
and  viewing,  no  doubt,  with  longing  eyes  the  food  around. 


49 


he  had  yet,  according  to  Indian  etiquette^  refrained  from 
clanioi-ing  at  once  for  food,  but  sat  and  smoked  for  a 
long  time  without  making  the  sligiiteat  allusion  to  his 
starving  condition.  Wlien  in  due  course  he  had  offered 
liim  something  to  eat,  he  mentioned  the  wants  of  himself 
iuul  iiis  family.  The  next  day  he  left,  carrying  with 
him  supplies  for  his  scpiaw.  He  was  exceedingly  grate- 
ful for  the  assistance,  and  promised  to  return  in  a  day 
with  his  wife,  who  should  wash  and  mend  all  our 
clothes  as  some  acknowledgment  of  the  kindness."  Pages 
134-5. 

Some  pages  further  on  the  authors  mention  the  relief 
they  affoided  to  a  small  tribe  of  Indians,  reduced  by 
the  scarcity  of  game  to  the  verge  of  famine  : 

"  During  the  day  family  after  family  came  in,  a  speciral 
cavalcade,  the  men  gaunt  and  wan,  mai'ching  before 
skeleton  dogs,  almost  literally  skin  and  bone,  dragging 
painfully  along  sleighs  as  attenuated  and  empty  of  pro- 
visions as  themselves,  The  women  and  children  brought 
up  the  rear,  who — to  the  credit  of  the  men  be  it  recorded 
— were  in  far  better  case,  indeed,  tolerably  plump,  and 
contrasted  strangely  with  the  fleshless  forms  of  the  other 
sex.  Although  the  Indian  scpiaws  and  children  are  kept 
in  subjection,  and  the  work  falls  eliieily  on  them,  it  is  an 
error  to  supposG  that  they  are  ill  treated,  or  that  the 
women  labor  harder  or  endure  greater  hardships  tlian 
tlie  men.  The  Indian  is  constantly  engaged  in  hunting, 
to  supply  his  family  with  food ;  and  when  that  is  scarce 
ho  will  set  out  without  any  provision  for  himself,  and 
often  travel  from  morning  to  night,  for  days,  before  he 
tinds  the  game  he  seeks.  Then,  loaded  with,  meat,  he 
toils  home  again ;  and  while  the  plenty  lasts  considers 
himself  entitled  to  complete  rest  after  his   exertions. 


■Ml 
1- 


■HI 


?)| 


50 


1!    ' 


I    iiiini 


! 


'  ii 


-'ilililll     :.j|:{ 


III 


"'i    :!! 


.iiiiii 
iiilHi 


ilH  •  ' 


The  flelf-denlul  of  these  men,  and  their  wonderful  en- 
durance of  liunger,  was  iUustrated  in  tlie  case  of  our 
hunter,  Keenomontiagoo^'^  etc.     Pages  145-6. 

"As  this  niisorable  company  came,  tliey  were  invited 
to  sit  down  by  the  fire.  Their  cheerfulness  belied  tlieir 
looks,  and  they  smoked  and  chatted  gayly  without  appear- 
ing to  covet  the  meat  that  lay  around,  or  making  any 
request  for  food  at  once.  No  time  was  lost  in  cooking 
some  meat  and  offering  a  good  meal  to  all,  which  they 
ate  witli  quietness  and  dignity,  too  well-bred  to  show  any 
sign  of  greediness.  Although  they  proved  equal  to  the 
consumption  of  any  quantity  that  was  put  before  tliem." 
Page  147. 

XXI. 

The  great  mass  of  rights  available  for  the  promotion  of 
man's  well-being  are  derived  from  the  right  use  of  his 
natural  endowments.  By  enterprise  and  industry  he 
may  provide  for  his  own  wants.  By  practice  and  ingenuity 
he  may  increase  his  earnings  and  acquire  a  degree  of 
skill  by  which  his  services  rise  in  value.  ^'^  providence 
and  economy  he  may  accumulate  in  some  durable  shape 
a  part  of  the  result  of  his  labors.  By  forming  domestic 
and  social  ties,  he  may  at  once  acquire  new  rights  and 
assume  new  obligations.  Every  new  relation  he  holds 
may  extend  his  interests  and  his  influence,  not  only  as 
husband,  parent,  kinsman,  neighbor,  but  as  one  skilled  in 
some  important  art  or  profession  ;  or  as  standing  in  some 
special  relation  to  others,  as  proprietor,  employer,  agent, 
creditor,  or  debtor.  All  these  relations  bring  with  them 
rights  and  duties  of  more  or  less  importance. 

As  the  number  and  variety  of  men's  occupations  and 


51 


pnrKuits  multiply,  tho  complexity  of  their  rights  and 
duticti  increase.  The  existence  and  nature  of  many 
])iivate  rights  are  obvious  enough ;  and  others  not  so 
obvious,  become  clear  to  the  mind  on  considering  the 
relations  of  the  parties  concerned.  But  many,  perhaps 
most  men,  being  slack  in  observing  and  respecting  the 
rights  of  others,  all  men  but  outlaws  see  tlie  need  of 
organizing  a  powerful  agency  for  the  defense  of  private 
rigiits,  by  punishing  tresp.sses  against  them.  And  this 
duty  imposed  upon  society,  organized  into  the  State, 
becomes  in  time  exceeding  complicated  and  laborious. 


'3  i 

■4 


XXII. 

One  necessary  result  of  society,  that  is  of  the  close  and 
habitual  intercourse  of  numbers,  is  to  exhibit  the  great 
contrasts  between  the  conditions  of  individuals.  Indeed 
civilization  tends  indirectly  to  aggravate  that  contrast. 
For  many  have  no  peculiar  ability  to  av  'I  themselves  of 
the  advantages  which  society  and  civilization  bring  within 
their  reach ;  while  some  others  make  the  most  of  these 
opportunities.  And  although  the  tendency  of  civiliza- 
tion is  to  raise  the  condition  of  the  whole  mass  of  the 
people,  it  does  so  very  unequally.  Nowhere  is  there  a 
closer  approximation  to  personal  equality  than  amidst 
absolute  savagery.  Yet,  savage  tribes  have  often  died 
out  from  long-continued  destitution,  such  as  seldom  occurs 
in  civilized  communities. 

It  would  seem  that,  in  order  to  attain  her  ends,  what- 
ever they  may  be,  Nature  works  by  inequalities.  Perfect 
equality  is  nowhere  found  in  her  productions.  Of  the 
multitude  of  leaves  on  the  same  tree,  no  two  are  exactly 


m 


i 


'Iliii 


£;,'!  'i 


lii.i 


1 

jl 

! 

'. 
1 

[ 

i      .1 

'■..'■[   ■ 

1;  ■ 

1  '  .; 

1 

1,    ;  11 

(i 

1 

M 

'     i 

;        j 

1   ll 

1 
i         1 

! 

I 

j 

,        ] 

i 

! 

\  i  I'l 

ill  iii^ii; 

iil 

1 

,i 

i  1 

i. , 
1 

1     ■.      " 
if 

1 

1 
f 

52 

alike.  This  is  not  only  true  ^f  Nature's  productions,  but 
it  is  equally  true  of  their  destinies.  Of  the  thousands  of 
acorns  that  fall  annually  in  the  forest,  one  may  become  a 
mighty  oak.  The  rest  are  crunched  and  swallowed  by 
the  swine.  Of  the  thousands  of  eggs  spawned  by  the 
salmon  on  her  annual  ti*ip  up  the  river,  all  but  one  may 
be  devoured  in  ^arly  youth  by  other  fish  ;  and  the  one, 
after  escaping  numberless  similar  perils,  may  attain  a  size 
and  maturity  far  surpassing  its  mother's.  8o  man,  another 
of  Nature's  productions,  runs  many  hazards:  many  die  in 
infancy,  a  portion  in  immature  youth,  otiiers  ])rove  utter 
failures  later  in  life ;  many  succeed  in  a  measure,  a  few 
stumble  upon  great  success  in  life.  This  is  a  wise  saying 
wherever  it  comes  from :  "  I  returned  and  saw  under  the 
sun,  that  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  tlie  battle  to  the 
strong,  neither  yet  bread  to  the  wise,  nor  yet  riches  to 
men  of  understanding,  nor  yet  favor  to  men  of  skill ;  but 
time  and  chance  happeneth  to  them  all." 

It  must  be  obvious  to  every  one,  that  the  natural 
powers,  capacities,  and  characteristics  of  men  vary  greatly, 
almost  without  limit ;  and  their  fortunes  quite  as  much  ; 
without  our  beina;  able  to  account  for  these  variations. 
Yet  we  see,  notwithstanding,  that  in  the  midst  of  these 
fortuitous  contingencies,  the  condition  to  whicli  men 
attain  still  depends  cliiefly  on  the  use  each  one  makes  of 
his  natural  endowments.  Nature  gives,  to  some,  i)ower8 
and  capacities  both  of  mind  and  body,  far  superior  to 
what  the  average  run  of  men  receive.  The  result  is 
great  inequalities  in  talents,  skill,  knowledge,  and  acquisi- 
tions among  those  who  make  up  human  communities. 
Nature  having  coinmand  of  boundless  variety,  tolerates 
similarity,  but  seems  to  ablior  equality. 

Yet  she  has  provided  laws  controlling  the  final  result 


53 


of  human  activity,  through  which  the  success  of  the  more 
successful  redounds  to  the  benefit  and  advancement  of 
tliose  wlio  are  less  so.  Thus  the  enterprises  of  the  more 
able  lead  them  to  need  the  aid,  and  engage  the  services  of 
tliose  who  are  less  able  than  themselves.  Moreover,  she 
has  endowed  men,  or  many  of  them,  with  a  strong  pro- 
pensity to  communicate  knowledge  and  skill,  and  to 
bestow  the  necessaries  of  life  on  the  ignorant,  the  unskill- 
ful, and  the  destitute.  The  more  gifted  at  least  of  the 
human  races  have  been  so  constituted,  that  their  exertions 
tend  to  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  their  own  race. 

The  comparative  well-being  of  individuals  differs 
widely  even  in  the  most  primitive  society ;  and  the  con- 
trast in  this  respect  between  individuals,  and  also  families, 
becomes  more  marked  with  each  step  of  progress  from 
that  primitive  state. 

Some  pious  people  who  look  beyond  this  life,  think 
that  this  tendency  in  Nature  td  favor  inequalities  is  only 
a  reflection  from  the  world  above.  That  inequalities 
here  are  only  the  shadows  which  characterize  the  con- 
ditions of  those  who  have  passed  away  to  another  state  of 
existence.  Not  that  inequalities  there  are  the  result  of 
the  same  causes  as  here.  For  looking  on  this  life  as  a 
state  of  probation  merely,  they  think  that  the  means  of 
man's  success  here,  may  cause  his  ruin  there. 

XXIII. 


1$ 


I    ■  L 


•I 

I 

Cm 


I  hi 


Perfectly  natural  causes  combine  to  produce  the  result 
of  inequality  in  society.  One  great  cause  is  this :  With 
the  increase  of  skill,  knowledge,  and  foresight  in  their 
pursuits,  some  men,  not  always  otherwise  the  most  highly 
gifted,  acquire  the  art  of  accumulating  much  of  the 
4 


4111! 

^l! 


54 


m 


fji! 


'    i 


i|!|:^!! 


'I: 

III  til 


il^ 


Iti 


result?  of  their  industry,  or  their  success,  in  such  per- 
manent forms  that  it  becomes  wealth  ;  not  the  plenty  of 
a  day,  a  week,  or  a  month,  but  an  abundance  that  can  be 
kept  for  an  indefinite  time  for  employment  in  future 
use — that  is  wealth  or  property. 

Wealth  may  have  been  acquired  even  before  the 
domestication  of  animals ;  but  the  earliest  form  known  to 
us  that  wealth  assumed  was  that  possessed  by  Job  and 
Abraham — large  herds  of  various  cattle.  The  skillful, 
vigilant,  and  industrious  herdsman  became  rich,  while 
the  unskillful  and  negligent  herdsman  continued  or  became 
poor,  and  perhaps  was  at  length  compelled  by  want  to 
seek  service  with  his  prosperous  neighbor.  Nor  could  he 
justly  complain  of  his  own  poverty,  or  envy  the  other's 
wealth. 

In  more  advanced  timep  wealth  assumed  more  per- 
manent shapes  than  that  of  the  flocks  and  herds,  which 
so  suddenly  failed  patient  Job — the  sliape  of  improved 
and  cultivated  lands,  useful  and  costly  buildings,  and  other 
durable  results  of  labor,  foresight,  and  economy. 

We  have  already  named  the  two  great  motives  that 
prompt  men  to  industry  and  providence :  the  desire  to 
better  their  own  condition,  and  the  instinctive  anxiety  to 
provide  well  for  their  offspring :  to  advance  them  per- 
manently to  a  better  condition  than  they  themselves  had 
formerly  occupied,  and  in  which,  perhaps,  they  had 
suffered  many  privations.  We  believe  that  this  last 
instinct  has  been,  both  directly  and  indirectly,  the  chief 
agent  in  raising  men  above  barbarism,  and  has  built  up 
civilization. 

This  trait  of  character,  providence  for  our  offspring,  is 
most  strongly  marked  among  the  higher  races  of  men, 
and  especially  in  the  best  specimens  among  them.     In 


m 


fact,  if  all  races  spring  from  one  source,  as  to  parentage, 
this  trait  probably  originated  the  higher  races  which  we 
see  predominating  in  the  world.  It  is  characteristic  of 
these  races,  not  to  be  absorbed  in  the  present,  but  to  feel 
iinich  interest  and  to  give  nmch  thought  to  the  past  and 
future ;  this  interest  being  most  commonly  exhibited  in 
inquiries  into  the  history  of  their  forefathers,  and  in 
anticipations  as  to  the  prospects  of  their  descendants. 
Looking  back  and  looking  forward  in  time  is  character- 
istic of  the  higher  and  more  gifted  races  of  men. 

Much  as  tliey  cling  to  their  hardly  earned  acquisitions, 
many  of  them  readily  part  with  no  small  portion  of  their 
gains,  to  enable  their  children  to  start  in  life  from  a 
higher  intellectual  level,  and  to  fit  them  for  a  higher 
social  i)osition  than  they  themselves  ever  reached. 

This  introduces  a  second  cause  of  social  inequality. 
For  these  provident  parents  are,  as  a  class,  intellectually 
and  morally,  superior  to  and  more  energetic  than  the  aver- 
age man  ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  many  startling  exceptions 
to  the  truth  of  the  maxim  that  "  Like  begets  like,"  that 
maxim  has  a  broad  foundation  in  truth,  not  only  as  to 
physical  but  as  to  mental  and  moral  qualities.  And  in 
this  case  the  general  result  is,  that  the  difference  in  the 
conditions  of  the  various  classes  of  men  is  widened,  not 
merely  by  tlie  success  and  advancement  of  some  capable 
men  of  one  generation ;  but,  in  many  cases,  by  the  success 
and  advancement  of  several  generations  of  capable  men, 
each  generation  successively  starting  from  the  vantage- 
ground  of  wealth,  inherited  culture,  social  position,  and 
family  influence,  to  which  it  has  boen  raised  by  its  pred- 
ecessors. The  truth  is  that,  in  more  than  one  sense, 
inheritance  lies  at,  and  ie  the  foundation  on  which  civil- 
ization has  been  built  up. 


66 


(  .,! 


,    ( 


Nothing  has  tended  more  strongly  to  raise  the  general 
condition  of  men  in  intelligence,  morals,  manners,  and 
general  well-being,  than  the  existence  of  classes,  raised 
above  tlie  necessity  of  daily  toil,  or  engrossing  care  to 
supply  their  pressing  wants,  having  leisure  and  means, 
and  many  of  them  a  craving  for  higher  occupations. 

With  intellectual  races,  idleness,  if  not  the  mother, 
often  proves  the  grandmother  of  mental  progress.  Leis- 
ure affords  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  a  higher  educa- 
tion, and  has  been  the  chief  agent  in  extending  knowl- 
edge and  skill,  and  in  the  cultivation  of  art,  science, 
letters,  and  philosophy. 

So«^iety  never  rose  above  barbarism  where  there  were  no 
men  of  leisure  and  means.  Wealth  and  culture  pos- 
sessed by  individuals  have  originated  and  sustained  most 
of  the  enterprises  beneficial  to  mankind.  For,  of  neces- 
sity, the  beneHts  of  these  acquisitions  by  and  to  individ- 
uals for  themselves,  by  a  law  of  Nature's  providing, 
gradually  extend  themselves  throughout  society.  It  is 
this  provident  law  that  creates  the  only  "  Socialism  "  that 
Nature  tolerates.  ' 

•  xxiy. 


The  two  instincts  to  which  we  lately  referred  have 
been  at  work  ever  since  men  have  existed.  Man's  crav- 
ing to  better  his  own  condition,  and,  yet  more  effectually, 
his  desire  to  provide  for  his  offspring,  and  to  advance  them 
to  as  good  and  even  to  a  better  condition  than  he  himself 
had  experienced.  These  constitute  that  double  founda- 
tion on  which  civilization  and  all  human  progress  have 
been  built.  Like  exogenous  plants,  human  nature  has 
two  prolific  shoots,  two  vigorous  instincts  from  which 


57 


have  shot  up  human  society  ^nd  institutions  in  the  best 
forms  in  which  we  have  yet  seen  them.  In  fact,  there 
are  no  other  sources  from  which  they  could  have  origi- 
nated and  continued  to  thrive. 

And  although  the  first  of  tliese  instincts  is  but  a  narrow 
selfishness,  and  tlie  s^^cond  a  widening  selfishness,  which 
embraces,  not  merely  ourself,  but  that  which  springs 
from  us,  as  the  branch  from  the  tree  and  the  leaf  from 
the  twig.  Nature  has  provided  that  that  very  selfishness, 
especially  in  the  latter  form,  sliould  result  in  widely  ex- 
panding benefits  to  mankind.  For  she  has  further  created 
the  necessity  tliat  men  should  obey  the  social  instincts 
that  lead  to  the  formation  of  society ;  and,  morever,  has 
made  it  impossible  for  men  in  society  permanently  to 
keep  their  acquisitions  in  skill  and  knowledge,  and  the 
results  from  them,  exclusively  to  themselves. 

We  may  observe  of  the  latter  instinct,  that  man  natu- 
rally craves  an  heir  to  his  acquisitions  of  every  kind. 
Moreover,  we  often  see  those  i/ho  have  lost  their  (;hil- 
dren,  or  never  had  any,  as  devoted  to  nephews  and  nieces, 
or  to  grandchildren,  as  if  tliey  were  their  own  immediate 
offspring.  So  strong  is  this  craving  to  occupy  the 
parental  relation,  that  many  childless  people  adopt  the 
children  of  strangers,  and  not  seldom  very  foolishly, 
without  regard  to  the  parentage  of  the  adopted  ;  forget- 
ting that  traits  of  character  are  very  often  inherited,  and 
that  estimable  people  will  seldom  part  with  a  child,  how- 
ever many  they  may  have. 

What  is  termed  "  bad  blood  "  expresses  in  two  words 
a  long-observed  truth.  Yet  we  have  more  than  once 
known  very  reputable,  and,  apparently,  not  otherwise 
foolish  people,  adopt  the  child  of  a  notoriously  unprinci- 
pled and  profligate  parent,  cliiefly  because  the  child  was 


ki     ',\i 


:  'ft 


I 


it 


i 


58 


attractive  in  person  and  ways,  and  the  parent  ready  to 
make  a  formal  transfer  of  his  or  her  right  in  il. 

These  adopters  in  the  end  have,  not  seldom,  reason  to 
be  thankful  that  they  can  say  truly,  what  Shakespeare's 
Leonato  regrets  he  cannot  say,  when  lie  discovers  the  sup- 
posed abandoned  character  of  his  daughter  Hero : 


**  Why  bad  I  not,  with  charitable  band, 
Took  up  a  beggar's  issue  at  my  gates, 
Who,  smirched  thus,  audmir'd  with  infamy, 
I  might  have  said, '  No  part  of  this  is  mine, 
Tbis  shame  derives  itself  from  unknown  loins.'  " 

In  such  cases  of  ill-considered  and  unwise  adoption  as 
we  have  referred  to,  the  adoption  is  often  concealed 
from  the  child,  and  also  from  the  associates  of  the  adopt- 
ing parties.  A  very  unfair  thing  to  them.  The  child  is 
given,  to  recommend  it  later  in  life,  all  the  sanctions  of 
the  good  character  and  position  of  its  supposed  parents. 
Let  us  imagine  that  Leonato  had  adopted  some  vicious 
beggar's  brat,  and  that  Hero  had  been  justly  charged 
with  her  dissoluteness.  To  what  a  fate  had  Count 
Claudio  been  betrayed  by  Leonato's  imposition !  For,  in 
truth,  we  have  usually  made  a  long  step  toward  know- 
ing a  person's  true  character,  when  those  of  his  or  her 
father  and  mother  are  known  to  us. 

To  our  mind,  the  instinct  which  Nature  has  stamped 
on  us  (so  strongly  on  some,  so  weakly  on  others)  to  task 
ourselves  through  life  for  the  benefit  of  our  offspring, 
proves  a  great  deal.  Not  only  the  right  of  inheritance 
in  the  offspring,  but  the  right  of  the  parent  to  choose  his 
heir,  at  least,  from  among  them.  Moreover,  this  dispo- 
sition to  adopt  children  by  childless  people  seems  to  be 
an  instinct  peculiar  to  the  human  family,  although  do- 


mi  i 


5& 


mesticated  animals  can  be  trained  to  adopt  offspring  not 
their  own.  From  this  provision  of  Nature  as  to  adop- 
tion, wliicli  amounts  to  a  craving  with  some  childless 
people,  we  are  disposed  to  infer  that  the  right  to  bequeath 
proj^ertj,  especially  with  childless  people,  is  strongly 
founded  in  nature. 

We  greatly  err,  if  the  French  law  as  to  inheritance  of 
lan<]  does  not  outrage  the  right  of  the  landholder.  No 
matter  how  he  may  have  acquired  his  land,  or  how  he 
may  wish  to  dispose  of  it,  on  his  death  the  law  steps  in, 
and  divides  his  acres  eqtially  among  his  children. 

This  provision  originated  in  a  political  policy,  at  a 
critical  time.  After  tlie  revolution  of  1789  large  estates, 
covering  half  of  France,  were  confiscated  and  divided. 
In  framing  the  "  Code  Napoleon "  it  was  thought  that 
the  more  the  land  was  cut  up  among  landholders  the 
more  difficult  it  would  be  to  bring  about  a  counter-revo- 
lution, and  to  restore  the  old  proprietors  and  the  old 
Government.  This  policy  is  still  in  high  favor  with  the 
Government  and  people,  from  the  conviction  that  where 
tliere  are  no  large  proprietors  a  class  is  got  rid  of  who  in- 
fluence the  people,  and  might  oppose  the  Government. 
The  policy  and  legal  tendency  is  now  to  cut  up  France 
into  potato  patches  and  cabbage  gardens.  No  proprietor 
shall  influence  the  vote  of  universal  manhood  suffrage. 

We  believe  that  as  long  as  the  French  hold  on  to  their 
present  law  of  inheritance  of  land  and  their  universal 
suffrage,  tliey  will  have  out  two  heavy  anchors  mooring 
them  to  an  unstable  and  unprosperous  political  condition, 
with  a  perpetually  recurring  revolutionary  ferment  and 
agitation. 


V 


l\ 


11 


1  i?\ 
(511 


i      ! 


60 


XXY. 


mm  ^;;i\ 


i  !'! 


On  what  solid  foundation  can  we  build  up  the  right  of 
^  private  property  in  an  individual,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
other  persons  ? 

Each  person,  who  is  not  idiotic  or  imbecile,  lias  been 
endowed  by  Nature  with  some  share  of  physical,  intel- 
lectual, and  spiritual  energy,  which  is  to  serve  his  pur- 
poses during  his  natural  life.  We  may  assume,  since 
Nature  has  given  these  energies  to  him,  that  they  are 
his,  and  belong  to  no  one  else.  The  amount  of  these 
energies  not  only  varies  greatly  in  different  persons,  but 
they  may  be  wasted,  misused,  or  perish  for  want  of  use. 
We  can  do  nothing  through  life  without  expending  some 
portion  of  them  ;  and  we  sometimes  expend  them  prema- 
turely. In  the  expenditure  of  them  our  moral  responsi- 
bility chiefly  lies.  By  judicious  use  and  husbanding  of 
them,  they  usually  last  as  long  as  we  last,  and  expand 
beyond  our  first  estimate  of  them.  They  are  the  impor- 
tant part  of  ourselves. 

Wh'enever  a  man  has  expended  a  part  of  these  ener- 
gies, either  physical,  intellectual,  or  spiritual  (usually  he 
expends  them  simultaneously),  in  adapting  to  his  own 
use  some  part  of  the  crude  basis  which  Nature  furnishes 
for  us  to  work  on,  whether  the  basis  be  material  or  im- 
material —that  is,  ideal ;  whether  it  be  matter,  or  the  laws 
governing  matter,  or  the  faculties  of  the  mind  ;  if  another 
deprive  him  of  the  results  of  his  labor  and  ingenuity,  he 
is  robbed  of  a  part  of  himself,  which  he  put  in  his  work. 

This  is  equally  true,  whether  the  result  of  his  labor 
take  a  ii.aterial,  or  a  purely  immaterial  and  ideal  shape : 
whether,  on  the  one  hand,  he  build  a  house  or  a  ship,  or 


61 


inclose,  clear,  drain,  and  cultivate  a  farm ;  or,  on  the 
other  hand,  whether  he  make  some  new  and  useful  inven- 
tion in  mecha?iics,  science,  or  art ;  or  compose  a  poem, 
a  book,  or  a  picture,  wliich  gains  popular  favor — so  that 
otlior  men  derive  pleasure  or  instruction  from  it ;  and 
are  willing  to  pay  something  rather  than  not  enjoy  the  use 
of  it.  In  each  of  tliese  cases  he  is  equally  entitled  to  the 
benefit  that  may  be  derived  from  the  result  of  the  labor 
and  talent  he  has  expended  on  it. 

But  where  the  result  of  his  labor  is  inseparately  joined 
to  a  material  form,  as  the  house,  the  sliip,  or  the  farm, 
it  is  much  easier  to  secure  to  him  the  benefit  from  his 
property,  on  wliich  he  has  expended,  perhaps,  a  large 
portion  of  his  energies — that  is,  of  himself — than  in  the 
case  in  which  he  lias  expended  them  on  the  production  of 
an  ingenious  invention,  or  on  a  popular  poem,  or  book, 
tliat  might  be  a  source  of  profit  to  him.  Ideas  are  im- 
material ;  and  however  much  labor  and  time  may  have 
been  expended  on  them,  any  one  that  has  access  to  them 
may  copy,  and  carry  them  off.  But  in  either  case, 
wliether  the  product  be  material  or  ideal,  the  producer 
has  the  same  right  to  demand  from  the  community  which 
professes  to  protect  his  rights,  all  reasonable  vigilance  and 
diligence  in  the  protection  of  those  rights,  the  results  of 
his  labor,  whatever  may  be  their  nature.  For  they  can 
be  identified  as  his,  and  no  other  man's. 

AVho  will  deny  the  obligation  on  the  Government  under 
which  a  man  lives,  to  defend  his  material  property  from 
robbery,  and  his  character  from  defamation  ? 

Is  it  leas  bound,  or  is  it  difficult  or  impossible,  to  pro- 
tect his  immaterial  acquisitions,  when  made  accessible  to 
others?  In  the  case  of  purely  intellectual  property,  all 
that  should  be  required  of  the  producer,  is  that  he  should 


J 


&2 


liii' 


1 ; 


furnish  proof  that  it  is  his  own,  and  that  he  intends  to 
retain  his  property  in  it,  and  not  give  it  away  to  the 
public. 

It  is  this  vast  but  gradual  accumulation  of  acquisitions 
of  all  kinds  of  property,  material,  and,  yet  more,  intellect- 
ual, through  past  ages  slowly  disseminated  throughout 
civilized  countries,  which  has  raised  these  countries  to 
what  they  are. 

All  that  governments  can  do  to  promote  the  develop- 
uient  of  human  capacity,  is  to  protect  individuals  in  the 
free  exercise  of  their  powers,  and  secure  to  them  the  en- 
joyment of  their  acquisitions.  Bnt  the  best  governments 
that  have  yet  existed,  by  intermeddling  with  matters 
foreign  to  their  duties,  and  by  neglecting  duties  truly  in- 
cumbent on  them,  have  often  marred  and  defeated  the 
provisions  Kature  has  made  to  enable  men  to  elevate  them- 
selves, and  indirectly,  but  surely,  their  fellow  men. 

As  to  property  in  land,  we  need  only  say — every 
country,  in  which  land  has  not  been  appropriated  to  the 
exclusive  use  of  individuals,  has  continued  in  a  state  of 
barbarism.  This  barbarism  has  been  the  most  absolute 
where  proprietorship  by  private  persons  was  least  known. 
It  diminished  under  village  proprietorship,  and  even  un- 
der nomadic  pastoral  life — when  local  right  of  pasture  is 
claimed,  and  acknowledged,  as  with  the  Mesta  in  Spain. 
But  it  never  disappears,  except  where  the  title  of  indi- 
viduals to  the  exclusive  use  of  most  of  the  soil  is  fully  es- 
tablished, and  recognized  by  the  law. 

In  every  populous  country  the  law  has  rigidly  pro- 
tected private  rights  of  property  in  land.  Without  this 
rigid  protection  of  private  property  in  land,  no  country 
ever  became  densely  peopled.  Thence  we  infer  that 
without  this  rigid  protection  of  private  property  in  land, 


cy.\ 


the  bulk  of  mankind  would  never  have  come  into  exist- 
ence, to  complain  of  being  robbed  of  their  share  of  Nat- 
ure's bounties. 

To  whatever  pursuits  men  devote  tlieir  talents,  industry, 
and  enterprise — wliether  to  fannint^,  ormininpj,  or  manu- 
factures, or  commerce,  or  navigation,  or  professions  such 
as  law,  medicine,  or  civil  engineering,  etc. — the  ultimate 
sliape  wliich  they  naturally  seek  to  give  to  the  results  of 
tlieir  success,  as  a  provision  for  themselves,  and  for  their 
families  after  them,  is  property.  And  where  their  suc- 
cess has  been  great,  it  usually  takes  the  form  of  landed 
property. 

This  is  a  wise,  although  worldly  prudence,  without  any 
taint  of  criminality  about  it,  unless  we  can  trace  that  in 
tlie  means  and  the  arts  they  used  to  acquire  wealth.  Even 
ill  those  cases  in  wliich  we  are  disgusted  at  a  selfish 
anxiety  to  accumulate ;  as  long  as  it  keeps  within  the 
hounds  of  honesty  and  fair  dealing,  we  must  admit  that 
men  have  a  perfect  right  to  earn  and  to  save  ;  and  must 
see  that  the  wise  providence  of  Nature  has  made  it  diffi- 
cult for  the  most  selfish  man  to  acquire  riches,  without 
giving  increased  and  profitable  employment  to  those  who 
need  it.  We  may  despise  the  agent,  but  we  must  ap- 
prove of  the  result. 


SI! 


!''.  1 


XXVI. 


All  value  and  utility  is  the  result  of  the  industry  and 
skill  of  individuals  applied  to  the  crude  materials  furnished 
by  Nature,  which  thus  become  property  in  private  hands. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  form  a  clear  conception  of  most 
private  rights,  nor  to  perceive  the  need  of  some  powerful 
protector  for  their  defense. 


M     '  f 


/ 


ww^ 


m 


flV  1,1       ,, 


iiif 


J 


64 


But  with  tins  protector,  the  State,  another  class  of 
rights  come  into  existence,  and  obtrude  themselves  on  our 
attention.  Their  nature  and  extent  are  not  so  easily  de- 
fined and  limited.     They  are  called  '*  Public  Rights." 

It  is  evident  that  there  was  a  time  when  the  State,  as 
such,  did  not  exist ;  that  it  must  have  come  into  existence 
after  individuals  had  acquired  some  rights  for  themselves, 
and,  probably,  after  society  had  made  some  progress 
toward  a  community.  For  the  State  originated  in  the 
feeling  and  experience  of  the  members  of  this  com- 
munity, probably  in  its  infancy,  that  each  one  needs  some 
protector  to  his  rights,  both  original  and  acquired  ;  and  in 
the  instinctive  conviction  that  this  protector  must  be 
found  in  a  union,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  defense ;  and 
in  the  organization  of  the  strength  and  resources  of  all 
the  individuals  having  social  relations  and  intercourse  with 
each  other. 

We  may  say  that  the  political  body,  in  its  origin,  grew 
out  of  an  incorporeal  abstraction,  an  ideal  but  crude  con- 
ception, suggested  to  individuals  by  their  dangers,  fears, 
and  self-seeking  needs.  To  a  great  extent  it  is  still  so. 
For  the  State  lias  no  personality.  It  can  produce  nothing ; 
it  can  create  no  value,  and  acquire  no  property,  but 
through  the  agency  of  individuals.  It  cannot  even  take 
counsel  or  action  but  through  the  same  agency.  And  it 
cannot  command  these  services  without  means  and  value 
wherewith  to  maintain  its  agents.  And  these  means  can 
only  be  obtained  through  the  contributions  of  individual 
members  of  the  community. 

The  State,  in  itself,  being  impersonal,  cannot  ar 
fields,  grow  crops,  build,  or  manufacture ;  or  even  make 
laws,  or  administer  justice,  but  through  the  agency  of  in- 
dividuals, employed  and  maintained  through  the  means 


65 


supplied  by  other  individuals.  In  short,  it  is  only  an  in- 
corporeal trustee  of  whatever  it  holds  in  the  hands  of  its 
ui^onts,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  contributed  to 
its  resources  and  means  of  action. 

But  as  all  private  rights  are  in  constant  danger  of  vio- 
lation, until  some  ])owerful  agency  is  organized  for  their 
defense,  all  who  feel  that  their  rights  are  in  danger, 
readily  unite  to  contribute,  each  some  of  his  private 
means,  or  of  his  personal  resources,  to  enable  the  new- 
horn  State  to  enter  on  its  duty  of  protecting  the  rights  of 
each  and  all  in  the  community. 

The  State  exists  only  to  serve  the  purposes  of  the  in- 
dividuals, not  the  people  to  serve  the  purposes  of  the 
State.  In  short,  the  State,  and  the  government,  which 
is  but  the  organized  a<^oncy  of  the  State,  grew  naturally 
out  of  the  needs  of  individuals,  each  seeking  security  for 
his  own  private  rights. 

And  although,  historically,  the  origin  of  the  State,  with 
its  government  agency,  is  remote  and  obscure ;  and  its 
development  and  complexity  have  been  of  gradual 
growth,  from  the  increasing  multiplication  and  more 
complex  nature  of  the  rights  of  individuals  ;  we  have  no 
reason  to  think  that  the  original,  primitive  end  and  pur- 
pose for  which  it  came  into  existence  has  changed.  Its 
simple  and  single  object  is  still  the  protection  of  private 
rights. 

•'  Public  Rights,"  or  the  riglits  of  the  State,  unlike 
()rivate  rights,  have  in  themselves  no  original  source  of 
existence.  In  their  nature  they  are  altogether  deriva- 
tive, springing  from  the  necessity  that  individuals  feel 
that  in.  order  to  secure  these  private  rights,  they  must 
furnish  the  means  with  which  the  State  shall  oppose  and 
contrc      wo  evils  incident  to  human  society : 


■A 


[iii 


Wi 


Hi' 


m 


1.  The  violation  of  private  rights  by  evil  doers  within 
the  pale  of  the  community. 

2.  And  by  foreign  enemies  from  without  the  pale  of 
the  community. 

In  order  that  the  State  may  have  the  means  of  admin- 
isternig  justice  between  indivi(hials,  and  of  preserving 
order  in  tlie  community,  it  must  have  the  command  of 
some  persons,  efficient  in  body  and  mind,  and  some 
material  means  for  their  maintenance,  in  return  for  their 
services.  To  enable  the  State  to  repel  tlie  assaults  of 
enemies  from  without,  it  needs  the  services  of  a  great 
many  more^,  and  very  efficient  persons,  and  very  abun- 
dant means  for  their  support,  and  moreover  for  their 
equipment  and  employment.  The  State  must  thus  or- 
ganize two  special  agencies:  one  for  the  administration  of 
justice  at  home ;  the  other,  for  the  defense  of  the  commu- 
nity against  foreign  enemies. 

In  primitive  times  the  mode  of  proceeding  was  simple 
eiKmgh.  If  the  local  chief  or  magistrate,  in  any  part  of 
the  country,  needed  an  assisting  force  to  arrest  offenders, 
and  bring  them  to  justice,  he  had  recourse  to  what  we 
may  call  a  posse  co//ntatuKS,  summoning  all  the  able-bodied 
men  of  tlie  neighborhood  to  give  loyal  aid  in  enforcing 
the  law.  If  a  foreign  enemy  crossed  the  frontier,  or 
threatened  attack,  the  head  of  the  State  summoned  all 
able-bodied  men  to  join  him  in  arms,  to  assist  in  beating 
back  the  enemy.  In  these  short  campaigns,  usual  in 
early  times,  each  man  was  expected  to  provide  for  his 
own  subsistence  for  a  time,  or  the  seat  of  war  furnished 
it. 

But  the  simplest  and  most  economical  government  is  a 
very  costly  thing ;  and  can  be  maintained  in  efficiency 
only  by  much  personal  service,  and  the  expenditure  of  a 


67 


large  amount  of  valuable  commodities.  Thus,  in  time  of 
war,  when  such  provision  is  not  fully  made  beforehand 
by  the  State,  its  army  eats  up  and  desolates  the  province 
it  undertakes  to  defend.  However  costly  these  prepa- 
rations for  defense  may  prove,  as  without  them  there 
would  be  no  security  for  either  the  personal  or  proprie- 
tary rights  of  any  one,  it  becomes  obviously  necessary 
that  all  in  the  community  should  unite  in  the  surrender 
of  come  part  of  their  property,  their  personal  service,  and 
their  Latural  liberty,  to  furnish  their  common  agent,'  the 
State,  with  the  means  to  defend  the  rights  of  all  and 
each  one.  This  is  the  motive  which  induces  mankind  to 
call  governments  into  beinpf,  and  to  support  them.  They 
burden  themselves  with  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  gov- 
ernment, in  order  to  escape  yet  greater  and  more  intol- 
erable evils. 

It  is  probabb,  nay  obvious,  that  in  primitive  ages,  dur- 
ing the  infancy  of  the  arts,  mankind  were  represented 
only  by  small  and  scattered  tribes ;  having  little  inter- 
course, and,  perhaps,  no  permanent  connection  with  each 
other. 

Yet  we  have  monumental  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
great  nations,  at  periods  to  which  we  cannot  go  back  in 
history,  embracing  millions  of  people,  with  great  cities, 
flourishing  and  perishing  in  times  so  remote,  that  their 
language,  and  even  some  of  their  arts,  have  been  lost ;  and 
the  skeleton  of  their  history  can  only  be  put  together  by 
a  careful  study  of  monumental  fragments,  eked  out  by  old 
and  doubtful  traditions. 

But  until  many  of  the  arts  have  made  great  progress, 
no  country  can  sustain  a  dense  j)opulation,  still  less  build 
up  the  great  cities,  whose  multitudes  and  magnificence  are 
proved  by  still  existing  ruins. 


•  t 


mrnr 


If  !i^' 


68 


XXVII. 


)i 


■,?i 
■if,! 


By  what  influences  were  these  scattered  tribes  gradually 
aggregated  into  nations?  The  first  and  chief  agent  was 
War  ;  the  second  was  Commerce. 

We  can  easily  imagine  a  probable  case,  in  the  most  prim- 
itive times,  in  which  war  would  at  once  lead  to  the  first 
"tep  in  aggregating  separate  trib.es  into  one  body.  An 
aggressive  tribe  harassing  and  attacking  its  neighbors, 
would  awaken  their  animosity,  and,  if  strong,  would  en- 
danger their  safety.  The  natural  feeling  that  "  The 
enemy  of  my  enemy  is  my  friend^''  would  at  once  lead 
two  or  more  tribes,  so  harassed,  to  make  a  close  alliance 
for  mutual  defense,  especially  if  they  were  cognate  in 
race  and  language.  It  might  soon  lead  them  further 
into  making  active  war  against  their  common  enemy,  in 
order  to  extirpate  them,  or  drive  them  out  of  their  neigh- 
borhood. 

The  fact  of  having  thus  acted  together  successfully, 
secured  their  safety,  and  exhibited  their  united  strength, 
would  confirm  their  union,  and,  moreover,  tempt  other 
cognate  tribes  to  join  them.  The  successful  leader,  in 
the  defensive-offensive  war,  would  probably  become  the 
head  chief  of  the  confederated  tribes ;  which,  by  com- 
munity of  language,  of  interests,  and  free  intercourse  and 
inter-marriage,  would  gradually  lose  sight  of  tribal  dis- 
tinctions, and  become  one  community. 

The  aggressive  and  defeated  tribe,  if  not  extirpated, 
would  seek  allies  to  unite  witli  and  strengthen  it.  Soon 
there  would  be  two  somewhat  numerous  communities, 
hostile  to  each  other,  each  seeking  to  strengthen  itself  by 
drawing  into  its  alliance  all  the  tribes  within  reach  ;  and 


Hliiniv 


69 


there  would  be  neither  peace  nor  safety  for  anybody,  in 
that  region  of  country,  outside  of  these  two  confedera- 
cies. 

If  these  rival  communities  differ  in  race,  language, 
customs,  and  religion,  their  habitual,  or  at  least  frequent 
relations,  would  be  those  of  war. 

We  have,  in  the  dawn  of  history,  an  example  of  this, 
in  the  prolonged  struggles  between  the  Aryan  and  the 
Turanian  populations  in  the  north  of  Persia,  and  in  the 
countries  to  the  east  of  the  Caspian  Sea.  The  former 
were  even  then  an  agricultural  people,  the  latter  con- 
tinued to  be  nomadic  herdsmen.  Nor  has  the  contest 
ceased  to  this  day.  For  the  Turcomans,  a  branch  or  rem- 
nant of  the  Turanian  family,  continue  their  inroads  upon, 
and  their  robberies  of,  the  settled  population  near  to 
tliem,  and  lose  no  opportunity  of  plundering  the  caravans 
tliat  pass  within  their  reach. 

As  a  common  danger  first  taught  men  to  value  and 
seek  union  and  combination  for  mutual  defense ;  so  more 
frequent,  numerous,  and  long-continued  dangers,  from 
more  powerful  enemies,  led  to  further  and  more  com- 
])lete  unions — wliich,  outgrowing  the  early  and  simple 
tribal  organizations,  became  States  ;  the  more  readily 
when  a  cognate  origin  and  language  suggested  this  union, 
which  thus  made  up  a  true  and  natural  nation,  springing 
up  by  the  re-union  of  kindred  tribes.  Thus,  while 
society,  in  its  simply  social  sense,  arises  from  the  social 
instincts  of  mankind,  political  communities  originate 
from  pressure  from  without,  acting  on  the  selfish  instincts 
of  men. 

In  such  cases,  the  actual  conquest  of  a  tribe,  or  of  a 
province,  if  the  people  be  cognate  to  the  conquerors, 
often  results  in  its  indistinguishable  incorporation  with 


-:;Ji), 

m 


I 


11  :;!{ 


70 


them  ;  which  rarely  happens  when  the  race  and  languag^e 
of  the  two  are  different.  In  that  case  the  vanquished 
long  continue  to  be,  in  fact,  if  not  in  law,  a  subjugated 
people. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  trace  and  estimate  the  number 
and  variety  of  evils  springing  from  the  attempt  to  bring 
about  the  political  union  of  discordant  materials.  Even 
when  the  union  of  different  races  into  one  nation  occurred 
in  very  remote  times,  there  seldom  is  a  tliorough  inter- 
mixture of  races ;  and  the  widely  differing  mental,  moral, 
and  physical  traits  distinguishing  individuals,  families, 
and  classes  in  modern  society,  are  largely  due  to  this 
cause :  difference  of  race.  There  is,  at  this  day,  no 
country  in  Europe  in  which  such  differences  cannot  be 
traced  to  this  source. 

In  many,  perhaps  most  countries,  we  find  proofs  of  the 
fact  that  the  ruling  class  were  of  a  different,  and  gener- 
ally, superior  race  to  the  mass  of  the  nation.     It  was  so  in 
ancient  Egypt,  and  is  still  in  modern  Egypt.      In  India, 
stratum   after  stratum  of   the   population,  to  this   day, 
easily  distinguished  as  the  offspring  of  successive  races  of 
conquerors,  lie  one  over  the  other.     In  Russia  the  Scan- 
dinavian and  tlie  German  elements  overlie  the  Sclavonic. 
In  France  the  Franc  and  tlie  Burgundian  invaders  origi- 
nated the  ruling  classes  ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  more  than 
thirteen  centuries,  the  traces  of  this  conquest  were  still  so 
obvious,  that  Napoleon  Bonaparte  once  cliaracterized  the 
revolution  in  France  in  1789  as  the  insurrection  of  the 
Gauls  against  tlie  Francs.     In  Ireland  the  Normans  and 
the  Saxons,  and  their  descei'   ants,  have,  for  near  eight 
centuries  lorded   it  over  the   Celts;    who   derive    their 
language,   and    their   civilization,   such  as  it  is,  from  the 
conquerors  whom  they  still  call  Saxons  (the  more  numer- 


oils  body).  Indeed,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  Irish 
ever  were  one  nation,  but  a  number  of  tribes,  or  petty 
principalities,  ever  warring  with  each  other,  until  that 
conquest  in  the  twelfth  century.  But  for  that  conquest, 
possibly  they  might  never  have  become  civilized.  The 
aljove  examples  show  the  extreme  difficulty  of  amalga- 
mating people  of  different  races  into  one  nation. 


I  if 


XXVIII. 


W  E  believe  that  this  evil :  incongruity  of  race,  disap- 
pears, often  by  a  summary  process,  in  the  following  cases. 
When  a  civilized  people  have  taken  possession  of  territory 
hitherto  occupied  by  savages,  they  have  never  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  imparting  their  civilization  to  their  new  sub- 
jects. These  may,  for  a  time,  form  a  lower  class,  within 
the  pale  of  their  civilization ;  but  they  do  not  become 
imbued  with  its  essential  characteristics;  but  merely  put 
on  some  of  its  externals  as  a  garment. 

In  most  cases,  these  savage  races  have  simply  died  out 
before  the  conquerors,  leaving  their  country  to  the  intrud- 
ing strangers.  For  with  many  races  of  men,  civilization 
and  extirpation  have  proved,  and  are  now  proving, 
synonymous.  The  only  safety  any  of  them  have  ever 
found  is,  occasionally,  in  the  inveterate  hostility  of  their 
climate  to  the  invaders. 

Such  is  the  fate  of  the  Nortli  American  Indians,  of  tlie 
jVIaoris  of  New  Zealand,  of  the  blacks  of  Austialia,  and 
of  the  natives  of  most  of  the  islands  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Such  is  the  process  now  going  on  in  South  Africa — with 
the  Hottentots,  Kaffirs,  and  other  races. 

But  the  negroes  of  juiddle  Africa,  as  far  as  we  yet 
know,  seem  to  afford  the  only  exception  to  this  result. 


>  ,'VsJ 

,    M 


ri 


ii'^!'. 


iiii'iir 


:ir',iih  ' 


III 


Hitherto  their  malarious  climate  has  protected  them  from 
extirpation.  And  in  consequence  of  a  forced  emigration, 
the  only  emigration  known  to  their  race,  they  seem  to 
have  survived  and  thriven  better  abroad  in  slavery,  than 
at  home.  For  most  of  them  have  always  been  slaves  at 
home — to  masters  black  as  themselves.  It  is  only  after  this 
forced  migration  that  they  have  ever  been  induced  to  put 
on  the  garb  of  civilization.  But,  low  as  is  their  intellect- 
ual capacity,  they  have  proved  themselves,  the  most  im- 
itative of  races,  in  copying  the  manners  and  habits  of  their 
masters.  Yet  when  left  to  themselves,  thev  show  a 
strong  disposition  to  strip  off  this  garment.  For  civiliza- 
tion hampers  them  sadly. 

A  noted  author  who  died  some  years  ago  remarked,  "I 
am  not  sure  that  any  nation  has  a  right  to  force  another 
to  be  civilized."  But  civilized  nations  do  not  seem  to 
have  entertained  this  doubt.  Indeed,  tlie  nation,  which 
profess  the  highest  civilization,  the  greatest  humanity, 
and  the  most  scrupulous  respect  for  the  rights  of  other 
peoples,  has  been  the  most  active  and  unscrupulous  in 
attacking,  not  only  rude  and  defenseless  tribes,  but  even 
great  nations,  which  were  easily  and  safely  assailable ; 
seizing  on  their  territory,  or  parts  of  it,  under  the 
plea  of  civilizing  them.  Whose  greed  and  liypocrisy  was 
it,  that  strove  to  force  opium  and  Christianity  on  the 
Chinese  at  the  cannon's  mouth  ?  They  succeeded  with 
the  opium,  but  failed  as  to  the  Christianity.  They  are 
still  making  all  they  can  out  of  their  partial  success,  to 
console  themselves  for  their  partial  failure. 

It  has  been  said  by  some  progressive  people,  who  are 
looking  for  the  perfectibility  of  man,  through  their 
material  and  mechanical  advance  in  tlie  arts,  that  Nature 
intended  the  surface  of  the  earth  for  cultivation;   and 


78 


that  savages,  who  do  not  cultivate  it,  merely  stand  in 
the  way  of  those  who  would.  That  the  savage,  in  short, 
is  a  nuisance  which  ought  to  be  abated. 

This  plea,  lame  as  it  is,  would  not  justify  many  acquisi- 
tions of  territory,  made  by  civilized  nations,  from  savage 
or  barbarous  tribes.  For  instance,  it  does  not  justify  the 
later  British  acquisitions  in  South  Africa:  where  the 
country  is  best  and  chiefly  suitable  to  pastoral  industry, 
and  was  already  well  stocked  with  the  well-tended  herds 
of  the  KaflSrs,  and  other  native  tribes.  But  when  we  find 
that  not  a  few  of  these  herds  have  been  driven  off,  and 
the  herdsmen  exterminated,  or  extirpated,  to  make  room 
for  the  most  frivolous  of  all  industries,  the  rearing  of 
ostriches,  solely  for  their  ornamental  feathers,  to  gratify 
the  vanity  of  dress-loving  women,  thousands  of  miles 
away  from  the  evicted  and  starving  Kaflir  herdsmen  ; 
we  are  disgusted  at  the  falseness  of  the  plea  for  robbing 
them  of  iheir  pastiu'es. 

The  best  apology  for  the  civilized  conquerors  of  the 
territories  of  savage  and  barbarous  people,  is  that  these 
people,  even  more  than  the  civilized,  acknowledge  no  right 
hut  that  of  the  strongest.  They,  especially,  obtained  and 
maintained  possession  of  their  territory  by  violence  and 
outrage  against  others.     That  is  their  sole  right  and  title. 

Much  as  the  Sj)aniards  have  been  abused  and  denounced 
for  their  rapacity  and  tyranny  while  in  possession  of 
Mexico  for  three  centuries ;  their  conquest  of  it  was  fully 
justifled  by  the  fact,  that  it  was  the  only  way  to  put  an 
end  to  the  horrid  human  and  cannibiil  sacrilices  of  the 
Mexicans,  with  their  annual  tens  of  thousands  of  victims. 
They  actually  seemed  to  have  fattened  slaves,  in  order  to 
eat   them.*     So  with   the  English   conquest  of  North 


^m 


111 

(  1  w 


\vi 


'M 


♦Prescott's  Mexico.    Book  1.    Ch.  3d.  pp.  24-5-6-7. 


r 

,1 

j 

,1 

1 ! 

,1 

mv 


74 


America.  They  merely  exterminated  tribes  cliiefly  occu- 
pied in  extirpating  each  other. 

We  need  not  farther  discuss  the  right  of  civilized 
peoples,  to  enter  upon  the  regions,  roamed  over,  rather 
than  occupied  by  savages.  It  is  plain  that  the  latter  are 
outside  of  the  institutions  of  these  civilized  invaders. 
Until  incorporated  with  them,  they  are  outlaws  as  to  civil 
rights.  Our  aim  here  is  to  trace  the  position,  relations, 
and  civil  rights  of  those,  who  are  acknowledged  members 
of  a  political  community. 

The  general  result  of  war  has  been,  not  only  to  mould 
and  weld  many  small  communities  into  fewer  and  larger 
States;  but  to  extirpate,  or  to  subject  the  inferior  families 
of  mankind  to  the  widening  dominion  and  the  multiply- 
ing numbers  of  the  higher  races.  It  is  a  common  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  the  civilization  of  the  latter  has  been 
the  source  of  their  superiority  and  their  success.  Their 
civilization  is  but  one  of  the  results  of  the  higher  endow- 
ment their  race  received  from  Nature.  Institutions  do 
not  tyiake  races,  hut  races  make  institutions.  We  have 
no  proofs  that  the  more  highly  gifted  families  of  man- 
kind, which  have  taken  the  lead  in  attaining  to  civiliza- 
tion, and  in  acquiring  wide  and  durable  dominion,  ever 
were  similar  in  their  natural,  constitutional,  endowments, 
to  the  savage  and  degraded  races,  yet  to  be  found  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  world. 

War  is  simply  one  of  the  necessary  evils  attendant  on 
man's  condition  and  nature ;  but  it  is  only  one  of  them. 
And  although  the  most  obvious,  it  is  not  necessarily  the 
greatest  that  can  befall  them. 

Notwithstanding  the  immediate  effects  of  war;  the 
violent  death  of  many,  and  the  ruin  and  desolation  of 
more  of  its  victims ;  it  often,  in  its  ultimate  effects,  pro- 


75 


motes  the  civilization  and  the  well-being  of  mankind.  It 
ijjreatly  .stimulates  enterprise  and  the  inventive  faculties, 
and  develops  the  energies  and  resources  of  a  nation. 

As  long  as  human  nature  retains  its  tendencies  to  vice 
and  corruption  ;  a  permanent  cessation  of  all  wars  might 
utterly  enervate  and  corrupt  the  race,  substituting 
meaner  vices  for  the  more  violent  impulses  which  urge 
them  on  to  warlike  enterprises. 

There  are  other  great  evils  which  prevail  in  time  of 
[)eace.  The  corruption  of  many,  and  the  ruin  and  deso- 
lation of  more  persons,  through  the  numberless  wholesale 
rascalities,  commercial  and  financial,  of  the  last  forty 
years,  equal  the  evils  of  many  a  war.  Who  can  measure 
the  sufferings  and  misery  caused  by  the  potato  rot  in 
Ireland  in  1846?  Or  by  the  famines  in  India,  China, 
and  Brazil,  within  twenty  years  ?  Or  by  the  plague  in 
former  centuries,  or  the  Asiatic  cholera  in  tliis  century  ? 
Or  by  the  Reign  of  Terror  in  France — or  even  by  that  of 
the  Commune  in  Paris  ?  Even  the  excessive  overgrowth 
of  a  needy  population,  which  often  shows  itself,  is  a 
greater  and  more  enduring  evil  than  many  a  war. 

It  is  certain  that  war,  in  all  ages,  has  been  eimobled  by 
the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  which  men  have  displayed,  on 
occasions  calling  for.  and  justifying  the  sacrifice,  beyond 
ahnost  any  other  emergency  to  which  society  is  liable. 

We  believe,  in  short,  that  war  often  takes  the  place  of, 
and  supplants  other  evils,  quite  as  malignant  and  more 
enduring  than  itself ;  and  that  an  occiisional  alternation  of 
peace  and  war  is  the  natural  condition  of  human  com- 
numities. 


prim 


7i 


XXIX. 


Np:xt  to  war,  coinniurco  has  been  the  chief  a^i^ent  in 
building  up  States,  and  in  promoting  civilization.  Tiie 
two  have  co-operated  with  each  other,  not  always  walk- 
ing hand-in-hand,  but  alternately  urging  on  the  same 
result. 

Commerce  at  once  increases  the  demand  for  the  pro- 
ductions of  industry,  varying  and  multiplying  their 
forms ;  and  at  the  same  time  drawing  from  a  distance  to 
one  point,  the  necessaries  of  life ;  thus  enabling  multi- 
tudes to  live  in  close  neighborhood  with  each  other. 
This  disseminates  and  increases  knowledge  —  promotes 
skill  in  the  arts,  unites  the  strength  and  resources  of 
numbers,  creating  tlius  a  powerful  political  community  : 
which  gradually  extends  its  inliuence,  its  language,  and 
its  rule  over  a  wide  region  of  country  around  it. 

As  nothing  can  successfully  resist  the  encroachments  of 
a  great  State,  but  the  power  of  another  great  State ;  it  is 
not  surprising  that  in  primitive  ages,  any  community 
which,  through  the  accidental  concurrence  of  favoring 
circumstances,  attained  to  considerable  eminence  in  popu- 
lation, arts,  and  knowledge,  should  be  able,  not  being 
hemmed  in  by  powerful  neighbors,  in  a  few  generations 
to  extend,  first  its  influences,  then  its  rule,  over  a  wide 
circle  of  tribes  and  territories  around  it — and  become, 
under  able  and  enterprising  princes,  an  empire  covering 
an  hundred  provinces. 

But  any  true  history  of  the  origin  and  progress  of 
political  society,  would  embrace,  among  other  series  of 
developments,  a  long  and  shocking  detail  of  crimes  by 
communities  against  communities  and  individuals ;  and  of 


[ 


77 


individualB  against  others,  and  against  communities.  The 
liistory  of  men  and  of  society  is  largely  made  up  of  the 
history  of  crime;  showing  how  much  mankind  have  mis- 
used the  opportunities  Nature  has  put  within  their  reacli. 

Yet  all  the  injustice,  treachery,  and  cruelty,  recorded, 
and  unrecorded  ;  which  even  when  known  to  us,  fails  to 
offend  our  better  instincts,  misled  by  passions,  prejudices, 
and  interests,  do  not  prove  that  there  is  no  such  thing  in 
Nature  as  justice,  truth,  and  humanity,  binding  at  once 
persons  and  on  States. 

But  this  is  beside  our  inquiry  into  the  provision  Nature 
has  made  in  man's  state  and  constitution,  to  enable  him 
to  raise  himself  and  his  race  above  their  primitive  condi- 
tion. 

XXX. 


WuEREVER  mankind  have  succeeded  in  raising  them- 
selves above  their  primitive  condition,  it  will  be  found 
that  this  has  been  brought  about  by  two  causes : 

1st.  That  the  people  of  that  community,  or  most  of 
them,  or  the  ruling  class  at  least,  belong  to  one  of  the 
higher  races,  and — 

2d.  That  they  have  been,  in  a  great  measure,  unob- 
structed by  political  and  other  influences,  in  their  efforts 
to  better  their  condition,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  their 
acquisitions. 

The  work  government  has  to  do — administer  justice 
between  individuals  under  various  and  complicated  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  to  secure  the  comnmnity  and  private 
persons  from  wrongs  by  foreign  aggressors — is  quite 
sufficient  to  engross  the  agency  of  the  State,  without 
thrusting  other  duties  upon  it.  Its  two  duties  in  pro- 
6 


:4 


78 


tectinfif  rif^lits,  are  both  of  a  negative  cliaractcr,  conflifit- 
ing  simply  of  tlie  [)i'eveiitiou  of  wroiit^. 

It  is  no  part  of  the  duty  of  the  State  to  feed  the  peo- 
ple, or  eh)the  them,  or  house  them,  or  teach  tliem  tiieir 
trades,  or  to  bestow  on  tliem  any  bounty.  It  has  l)een 
said  that  the  aim  of  governments  shouhl  ])e  "  tlie  great- 
est good  of  the  greatest  number,"  a  most  misleading  and 
mistaken  niaxim,  originating  in  a  false  conception  of  the 
purpose  of  government,  leading  to  the  grossest  faUacies 
— to  tlie  usurpation  by  the  State  of  a  number  of  duties 
and  prerogatives  (piite  foreign  to  its  true  end,  which  is 
not  to  take  i)arental  control  of  the  people,  in  order  to  do 
them  direct  good,  or  bestow  any  bounties  ujion  them 
— thus  teaching  ])eople  to  expect  the  State  to  do  some- 
thing more  than  protect  their  rights — to  transfer  to  them 
some  part  of  the  advantages  and  rights  others  have  ac- 
quired for  themselves — to  turn  to  the  State  as  their 
parent  and  patron,  to  which  they  must  look  for  the 
benefits  they  enjoy,  thus  misleading  and  corrupting 
them.  The  only  l)enetit  the  State  can  bestow  on  indi- 
viduals without  robbing  other  individuals,  is  securing  to 
them  their  own  rights. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  "  public  rights "  which 
are  inseparably  connected  with  ])ublic  duties.  It  is  evi- 
dent that,  unlike  private  rights,  what  are  called  "  pub- 
lic rights  "  have,  in  them3elves,  no  original  source  of  ex- 
istence. In  their  essential  nature  they  are  altogether 
derivative.  Until  society  is  organized,  public  rights  do 
not  exist,  but  many  private  rights  exist  before  that.  The 
public  rights  can  only  draw  their  existence  from  the 
great  nuiss  of  the  rights  of  individuals.  If  there  were 
no  such  things  as  private  rights,  public  rights  never 
could  have  came  into  being.    Nay  more,  until  we  have 


79 


acfiuired  clear  ooncoptioiis  of  j)rivate  ri^lits,  and  of  their 
need  of  fiirtlier  protection  than  tiiat  of  tiie  ju'r-son  to 
whom  tiiey  heh)ng,  we  could  not  conceive  of  any  public 
right  whatever. 

In  all  our  reasonin«r  us  to  "  puhlic  rights"  we  start 
with  minds  saturated  v.  ith  convictions  as  to  a  multiplicity 
of  rights  vested  exclusively  in  individuals.  Public  rights 
are  merely  the  reHections  or  representatives  of  this  great 
mass  of  j)rivate  rights.  To  create  public  rights  a  portion 
or  })ercentage  of  rights  must  be  advanced  from  private 
sources,  as  a  premium  for  the  insurance  of  the  great 
mass  of  rights  remaining  in  private  hands.  '*  Public 
rights,"  in  short,  are  the  sentinels  drawn  out  from  the 
ranks  of  the  great  legion  or  phalanx  of  the  private  rights 
of  the  members  of  the  community,  and  posted  around 
them  ty  mount  guard  for  their  safety. 

That  such  is  the  origin  and  nature  of  what  are  calle<l 
"public  rights"  will  be  evident,  when  we  incpiire  what 
are  the  resources  at  the  commaml  of  the  State,  which 
constitute  its  rights  and  resources.  These  consist,  sub- 
stantially, of  its  comnumd  over  private  property,  and  its 
command  over  personal  services.  We  will  speak  first  of 
property. 

All  value  and  adaptation  to  utility  is  the  result  of  the 
industry  and  skill  of  individuals,  applied  to  the  crude 
materials  furnished  bv  Nature :  which  thus  becomes 
property  in  private  hands.  The  State  having,  in  itself, 
no  personality,  being  in  fact,  an  ideal  conception,  gener- 
ated by  the  selfish  needs  of  individuals,  can  create  no 
value,  acquire  no  property,  nor  act  in  any  way,  but 
through  the  agency  of  individiuils ;  and  it  cannot  obtain 
these  services  until  it  has  the  means  or  value,  wherewith 
to  maintain  those  it  seeks  to  employ. 


w 


'■ 


80 


But  the  many  poBBessors  of  private  ri^litp,  bcin^  all  in 
urgent  need  of  soiiie  powerful  agent  for  ilie  proteetion 
of  those  rights ;  each  one  is  stimulated  to  eontrii)ute 
something  of  his  private  means,  or  of  his  personal 
services,  to  enable  the  State  to  fiilHU  the  duties  imposi^d 
upon  it,  as  the  i)roteetor  of  the  rights  of  all  and  each  one 
in  the  community. 

Whatever  form  this  protecting  agency  may  assume, 
and  however  wide  or  narrow  the  community  and  the 
territory  under  its  jurisdiction,  if  it  is  to  protect  all  who 
live  under  it,  it  must  be  furnished,  by  the  j^ersons  who 
make  up  the  community,  with  the  means  of  so  doing.  If 
it  is  to  administer  justice,  it  must  have  judges,  sheriffs, 
and  many  subordinate  officers,  and  all  the  means  needed 
to  bring  litigants,  offending  parties,  and  witnesses  before 
its  courts,  in  order  to  decide  the  cases  between  them  ; 
and,  in  criminal  cases,  for  the  trial  and  punishment  of 
offenders.  This  regular  administration  of  justice  re- 
(p»ires  not  only  that  the  State  should  have  a  revenue  t<j 
meet  hirge  expenditures,  but  it  nuist  have  also  some  fixed 
jwssessions — landed  property  and  costly  buildings,  court 
houses,  jails,  record  offices  and  tlie  like,  in  various  parts 
of  the  country. 

If  the  State  is  to  protect  every  one,  in  every  part  of 
the  country,  it  must  have  easy  access  to  every  part  of  it. 
And  the  people  must  have  free  access  to  the  Government, 
and  to  every  part  of  tlie  country  to  which  iniblic  duty 
may  call  them.  This  makes  it  necessary  that  tlie  State 
siiould  accpiire,  and  keep  in  its  han<ls — as  pui)lic  ])ro})erty 
— the  st'*ips  of  land  needed  for  making  convenient  })ublic 
roac':4  wherever  they  are  wanted.  The  king's  highway 
must  run  throughout  the  length  and  breadtli  of  the  land. 
Moreover,  such  roads  are  needed  for  the  intercourse  and 
commerce  of  the  people  with  each  other. 


81 


If  the  State  is  to  protect  and  'lefeiul  the  cominuTiity, 
one  and  all,  against  inroads  and  assanlts  by  foreign 
enemies;  it  slionld  acqnire  and  hold  those  local  positions 
in  the  country,  of  especial  strategical  value  for  prevent- 
ing sudi  nttacks  and  inroads — and  for  preparing  and  ])re- 
serving  the  means  of  defense.  For  this  reason  the  State 
should  ac(piire  and  hold  the  sites  most  advantageous  for 
fortresses,  arsenals,  navy  yards,  armories,  magazines,  and 
harracks,  and  other  military  and  naval  stations;  as  a 
timely  preparation  for  fultilling  the  duty  of  defending 
the  country.  Many  great  nations  are  under  the  constant 
necessity  of  maintaining,  at  monstrous  annual  cost,  a  nu- 
merous army,  and  strong  navy,  besides  all  the  subsidiary 
establishmeiits  needed  to  keep  both  in  effective  condition. 

The  State  being  charged  with  the  great  duties  of  ad- 
mini>tei-ing  justice,  and  of  defending  the  country,  will 
not  only  need  a  head;  but  also,  many  other  high  ofticials, 
intrusted  with  the  superintendence  of  various  branches 
of  the  public  service  ;  and  it  must  make  provision  for 
maintaining  all  these  officials  in  a  style  suited  to  the  hn- 
portance  of  the  positions  they  hold.  The  State  that  starves 
its  officials,  causes  them  to  plunder  th  peoj)le,  and  d.e- 
fraud  the  State. 

Moreover  it  must  have  a  seat  of  government,  offices  for 
the  transaction  of  public  business,  and  for  ])reserving 
records.  It  must  have  a  parliament  house,  a  suitable  res- 
idence for  the  head  of  the  State;  perhaps  for  many  others 
high  in  office.  It  must  have  a  treasury,  jm<l  ])robably  a 
mint.  Wii  need  not  undertake  to  enumerate  everything: 
of  this  kind  it  must  have,  nor  tix  a  limit  to  the  cost.  It 
is  obvious  that  the  State,  in  oi'dcr  to  perform  tin.'  func- 
tions for  which  it  exists,  must  not  only  receive;  :i  large 
revenue,    but  it   must   become  the    possessor  of  landed 


82 


property ;  often  itself  of  great  value  from  its  natural  ad- 
vantages ;  iind  improved  at  great,  often  enormous  cost. 


XXXI. 


Thus  the  State  must  become  a  projirietor.  Yet,  every 
penny  of  its  property  originated  in,  and  is  derived  from 
the  earnings  of  the  industry  and  skill  of  some  private 
person.  In  all  its  expenditures  it  is  spending  the  i)eo- 
ple's  money;  that  is,  the  money  of  those  of  the  })eople, 
who,  not  consuming  all  they  earn,  have  a  surplus  fund, 
out  of  which  to  pay  taxes. 

J3ut  the  State  holds  its  property  by  a  different  title, 
and  for  a  dilfeient  purpose  than  that,  by,  and  for  which, 
individuals  hold  theirs.  All  their  pro[)erty  is  the  result 
of  the  industry,  skill,  and  economy  of  individuals,  either 
the  present  owners,  or  accpiired  by  them  through  iidier- 
itance,  bequest,  or  purchase,  from  those  with  whom  it 
came  into  existence,  as  property ;  and  they  hold  it  f(jr 
their  own  use  and  benelit. 

All  that  the  State  possesses  of  revenue,  or  of  ])roperty, 
is  derived,  directly  <>r  indirectly,  from  the  in<lustry  and 
enter[)rise  of  individuals,  usually  contributed  in  the  shape 
of  taxes,  sometimes  of  personal  service;  the  object  of 
these  contributions  being  to  enable  the  State  etticiently  to 
fulfill  its  <luty  in  protecting  privattr  rights.  The  State  Ib 
merely  a  trustee  of  all  that  comes  into  its  hands;  the 
beneficiaries  are  the  pers(»ns  who  niake  u])  the  com- 
munity, and  more  especially  those  who  support  the 
State. 

It  is  no  m<U'e  true  that  the  acres  which  make  up  the 
territories  of  a  country  belong  to  the  State,  or  to  the  na- 


t 

5ti 


\vi 


83 


■i' 

f 

* 


tioii  considered  as  a  mass  or  unit,  than  that  all  the  horses, 
cattle,  household  stuff,  stock  in  trade,  tools,  or  money  in 
the  country,  belong  to  the  State  or  people  en  masfte.  A 
nation  in  a  unit  onh/  for  the  iJefenm  of  ita  component 
partf*.  All  these  things,  both  land  and  movables,  arc 
the  acquisition  of  individuals,  often  got  at  great  risk  and 
toil ;  and  continue  to  ])e  private  property,  except  that 
small  jmrt  which  the  State  must  acquire  and  keep  in 
hand,  to  enable  it  to  protect  the  community  considered 
in  their  individual  capacities. 

If  it  were  true  that  the  State,  as  a  unit,  had  a  right  to 
divide  these  things  equally  among  all  the  meud)ers  of  the 
community,  whenever  it  pleased,  it  must  be  obvious  to 
all  reflecting  persons  that  thii-"  measure  woidd  put  a  stop 
to  all  far-reaching  industry  ;  or,  at  least,  to  all  economy 
in  using  that  which  was  produced,  and  effectually  ruin 
the  prosperity  of  the  country.  It  would  amount  to  a 
sort  of  national  suicide. 

But  it  is  to  the  benefit,  and  for  the  security  of  every 
proprietor  of  rights,  that  the  State  should  be  authorized, 
especially  in  sudden  emergencies,  to  take  possession  of 
anything  in  the  country,  the  use  of  which  is  essential  to 
the  defense,  safety,  or  good  govei-nment  of  the  com- 
munity ;  the  private  owner  thus  stripped  of  his  right, 
being  entitled  to  full  indemnification,  by  as  good  title  as 
other  ownei's  have  in  their  property,  which  they  have 
retained. 

Thus  the  spot  occupied  by  a  private  house  may  become 
essential  for  the  site  of  a  fortress,  for  the  defense  of  the 
country  ;  or  of  some  important  part  of  it,  as  a  city  or  a 
harbor.  The  State  may  force  the  owner  to  tscU  it,  but  he 
is  entitled  to  a  full  and  liberal  price,  to  be  measured 
rather  by  its  value  to  the  State  than  to  the  owner.     A 


84 


i 


court-house  or  a  jail  may  be  needed,  and  no  fit  site  be 
vacant.  Here  again  tlie  State  may  call  on  the  owner  to 
sell,  on  similar  terms,  to  facilitate  the  administration  of 
justice. 

In  time  of  war  a  farmer's  corn,  hay,  and  cattle,  may  be- 
come essential  for  the  feeding  of  troops  and  their  horses ; 
the  State  has  a  right  to  purchase  these  things  so  needed, 
but  the  farmer  must  be  no  loser  by  the  sale.  These 
transactions  are  not  more  for  the  security  of  the  owner, 
thus  compelled  to  sell,  than  for  that  of  the  rest  of  his 
countrymen,  who  remain  undisturbed  in  their  posses- 
sions. The  latter  have  no  "ight  to  throw  a  loss  on  him, 
to  secure  their  own  safety.  Every  man  in  tlie  country  is 
the  debtor,  or  the  robber,  of  the  proprietor  thus  de- 
vested of  his  property  by  the  State,  until  he  is  fully  in- 
demnified. This  is  true  as  to  all  private  property  taken 
for  the  use  of  the  State,  under  the  pressure  of  any  as- 
sumed necessity,  whetlier  for  the  defense  of  the  country 
or  for  any  other  public  purpose. 

When  a  proprietor  is  forced  to  yield  up  a  part  of  his 
land,  for  public  use,  as  for  a  high'.vay,  the  State,  possi- 
bly, may  justly  take  into  consideration  any  greatly  in- 
creased value  of  the  remainder,  accruing  from  the  new 
use  of  that  part  which  has  been  taken,  in  abatement  of 
the  price  paid  to  the  ])roprietor.  But  the  exercise  of 
this  power  is  dangerous  to  private  rights. 

We  should  never  lose  s^'glit  of  the  fact  that  all  prop- 
erty, and  all  value  of  any  kind,  which  the  State  can  ac- 
quire, is  derived,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  industry, 
enterprise,  and  skill  of  individuals ;  and  that  the  State 
has  no  right  to  exact  from  them,  and  to  retain  in  its  own 
hands,  more  Vlian  is  necessarv  to  enable  it  to  fulfill  itn 
functioiis,  as  guardian  of  private  j>roperty  and  private 


85 


rights.  The  State  exists  not  as  an  end  in  itself,  bnt 
nierelv  as  a  moans,  fur  tlie  attainment  of  an  end — the 
security  of  private  rights. 


xxxir. 


Ilow,  then,  has  the  misconception  arisen,  and  grown 
into  a  conviction,  in  not  a  few  minds,  that  what  we  call 
''pnhli(!  rights'^  are  not  derivative,  but  original  in 
their  nature,  springing  from  some  source  within  tliem- 
selves ;  jind  that  they  are  sacred  in  their  character,  be- 
yond private  rights  ? 

Political  communities,  both  great  nations  and  little 
States,  have  often  been  brouglit  to  such  perilous  extremi- 
ties, by  lawlessness  within,  and  hostilities  from  without, 
tiiat  it  became  impossible  to  fix  on  any  ratio  between 
the  private  rights  men  should  retain  in  their  own  hands, 
and  those  tiiev  should  contribute  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  power  and  efficiency  of  the  State. 

Ileturning  to  tlie  use  of  the  figure  of  speech  :  that 
public  rights  are  sentinels,  drafted  from  the  ranks  of  the 
gnnit  phalanx  of  private  rights,  and  posted  around  it,  to 
keep  guard  against  the  attacks  wliich  may  be  made  upon 
this  great  body.  The  danger  to  the  latter  may  become 
so  urgent,  that  strong  detachments  have  to  be  drawn 
from  the  nuun  body,  to  form  outposts  to  suj)port  the 
sentinels.  The  urgency  of  the  danger  may  so  augment, 
that  the  use  and  command  of  the  bulk  of  all  private 
rights  and  personal  services  may  be  needed,  for  a  time, 
perha])s  a  longtime,  to  ])rotect  and  preserve  the  existence 
of  any  private  rights  whatever.  In  tin's  case  the  phal- 
anx  of  private   rights  becopies  utterly  broken   up,    the 


86 


■litii 


organization  is  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton ;  and  it  be- 
comes difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  refill  its  ranks  and 
restore  its  order. 

Tlius  civil  society,  not  only  in  small  communities,  but 
even  in  great  States,  has  often  been  in  such  danger  of 
utter  ruin  and  disintegration,  tliat  no  government  but 
one  of  tlie  most  energetic,  concentrated,  and  absolute 
cluiracter,  and  possessed  of  the  most  amj^le  means,  can 
provide  for  its  defense  and  safety. 

At  some  period  or  other  of  its  history,  almost  every 
nation  has  experienced  this  disastrous  condition  of  its 
affairs,  often  more  than  once,  and  for  long  periods.  These 
prc:^edents  for  the  extreme  powers  and  exactions  of  gov- 
ernment are  not  soon  forgotten  by  either  the  governors 
or  tlie  governed.  The  latter  become  used  to  exactions 
and  restrictions.  The  powers  of  the  State  are  wielded 
by  men  in  ofKce ;  and  it  is  the  nature  of  men,  in  power, 
to  grasp  at  more  power. 

Thus  all  governments  have  an  innate  tendency  to 
exalt  tlieir  prerogatives,  to  swell  tlieir  powers  by  claiming 
larger  means  of  action,  and  b}'  usurping  new  matters  of 
jurisdiction :  until  many  people  liave  been  gradually  led 
to  believe  tliat  they  themselves  derived  their  rights 
through  the  grants  of  the  vvvy  government,  which  ex- 
ists only  by  tl  contributions  men  have  made  from  their 
]n*ivatc  rights,  in  order  to  bring  into  existence  and  ecpiip 
the  State,  for  the  protection  of  all  ])rivate  rights,  which 
have  been  iiccpiired,  nay,  created,  without  any  aid  what- 
ever from  the  State. 

Wit  Me  new  generations  have  been  growing  Uj)  under 
this  unnatural  condition  <»f  the  country  ;  so  far,  in  some 
cases,  luive  these  abuses  been  }mshcd  by  the  governments, 
80  graisping  ha^"'  been  the  usurpations  of  those  who  ex- 


87 


ereiaed  tlie  powers  of  the  State,  that  these  powers  and 
prerogatives  seemed  to  have  no  limit ;  and  it  appeared 
doubtful  whether  anarchy  and  general  robbery  would  be 
more  intolerable  than  the  rule  of  the  great  robber,  orig- 
inally established  and  put  into  office,  to  prevent  the  very 
evils  it  was  now  perpetrating. 

We  will  give  an  example  of  this  wholesale  robbery  and 
perversion  of  what  is,  perhaps,  the  most  important  right 
men  can  acquire. 

In  what  is  now  known  as  British  India,  although,  in 
that  imraensi  and  populous  region  every  field  had  been 
brought  under  culture,  and  acquired  its  value  and  utility 
from  the  enterprise,  industry,  and  skill  of  individuals  ;  it 
had  become  the  law  of  the  land,  under  the  Mogul  dy- 
nasty, that  (^vary  acre  in  tlie  peninsula  was  the  property 
of  the  Great  Mogul,  and  every  occupant  of  land  was  his 
tenant  at  will.  And  since  the  con<|uest  of  India  by  the 
Englisli,  British  lawyers  have  strenuously  maintained 
that  the  Mogul  rule  of  tenure  was  the  fundamental  law 
of  the  land ;  and  the  Government  has  practically  acted  on 
that  assumption.  The  land  tax  has,  in  many  cases, 
proved  a  rack-rent,  and  led  to  the  eviction  of  a  multitude 
of  landholders. 

This  land  tenure  was  the  result  of  one  con(piest :  that 
by  the  Moguls,  under  Baber,  a  descendant  of  Timour 
the  Great;  and  its  continuance  was  the  result  of  another 
conquest ;  that  by  the  English  East  India  Company,  now 
succeeded  by  the  Britisli  Goveniment.  For  the  climate 
of  India  rendering  it  impossii)le  for  the  British  to  colonize 
the  country  themselves,  the  last  concpierors  had,  as  in- 
ilividuals,  no  personal  interest  in  the  tenure  of  land  there ; 
and  unlimited  power  of  taxation  has  proved  a  great  con- 
venience to  the  Government. 


f 


88 


II! 


|i!l 


Mij 


.  Under  the  feudal  system  a  very  similar  theory,  as  to 
the  tenure  of  land,  was  inculcated  in  western  Europe. 
But  the  practical  results  were  widely  different. 

When  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire,  one  after 
another,  had  been  oveiTun  and  conquered  by  different 
nations  and  tribes  from  tlie  north  of  Europe;  in  each 
case  of  conquest  the  king,  or  commander  of  the  conquer- 
ing army,  cantoned  detachments  of  his  forces,  under  sub- 
ordinate leaders,  in  the  strongholds,  or  at  the  strategical 
points  of  the  newly  acquired  territory,  to  keep  the  van- 
quished people  in  subjection,  and  to  draw  supplies  from 
each  province.  As  these  detacliments  and  their  chiefs 
were  originally  undei*  the  command  of  tlie  prince  or  gen- 
eral of  the  conquering  nation,  the  whole  of  the  conquered 
country  and  all  its  resources  wei*e  assumed  to  be,  for  the 
time,  at  his  disposal. 

But  wlien  these  secondary  leaders,  most  of  them  being 
chiefs  of  tribes,  long  accustomed  to  follow  them  in  war 
and  peace,  had  for  years  occupied,  each  a  particular  prov- 
ince or  county ;  and  they  had  made  themselves  strong 
there,  and  secure  in  their  occupation,  among  other  means, 
by  placing  the  smaller  strongholds,  with  an  allotted  por- 
tion of  territory,  under  the  charge  of  their  own  tried  and 
trusty  officers;  each  of  whom,  in  turn,  had  his  own  fol- 
lowers of  tlie  conquering  tribe  to  provide  for,  the  feudal 
system  gradually,  but  naturally  grew  up. 

Each  of  these  allott  .1  territories  became  a  lief,  held, 
in  theory,  at  the  appointment,  or  by  the  grant  of  the 
sovereign,  as  lord  ])aramount ;  Init  really  as  an  estate  of 
inheritance,  not  to  be  forfeited  but  fur  some  high  crime, 
as  treason  or  rebellion.  And  the  officers  of  these  great 
landholders,  in  their  turn,  became  similar  vassals  to  them, 
holding  the  lands  allotted  to  each  of  them  by  his  im- 
mediate chief,  on  a  similar  feudal  tenure. 


m 


89 


We  will  not  stop  to  inquire  into  all  the  causes  why,  in 
one  conquest,  that  made  !)y  the  Moguls,  tlie  occupants  of 
land  were  ultimately  reduced  to  the  condition  of  tenants 
at  will ;  and  why  the  other  conquest,  that  made  by  the 
Germans  and  Scandinavians,  should  result  in  giving  the 
landholders  estates  of  inheritance.  One  fact  is  sufficient 
to  account  for  the  difference. 

These  Northern  conquerors  in  Europe  were  of  the  most 
gifted  and  intellectual  raoes — individually  self-reliant,  and 
imbued  with  a  strong  spirit  of  independence ;  which  was 
only  controlled  by  tlie  obvious  need,  in  war,  of  subordi- 
nation and  obedience  to  discipline.  The  motive  of  these 
invaders,  in  ni.iking  thiscon(pu)st  of  new  territories,  un- 
like that  of  tiu  English  in  India,  was  to  divide  the  land, 
more  fertile  and  in  a  better  climate  than  that  which  they 
had  abandoned,  among  tliemselves  (the  conquerors)  in 
proportion  to  the  rank  and  merit  of  each  warrior. 

But  with  a  hostile  people  under  and  around  them,  they 
still  had  to  keep  up  their  organization  as  an  army,  and 
their  connection  with  and  obedience  to  their  chiefs.  With 
a  nation  of  conquerors  tlius  organized,  there  was  a  solid 
reason  for  the  reference  of  all  tenures  of  land  to  the  grant 
of  the  sovereign  head  of  the  nation. 

Out  of  this  theory  of  the  feudal  system,  that  all  land 
was  held  on  conditional  tenure,  by  grant  from  the  sover- 
eign, in  whom  the  ultimate  title  rested  as  lord  para- 
mount, the  lawyers  and  courts  have  manufactured  the  doc- 
trine of  "  Eminent  Domain,"  vesting  all  land  in  the  State. 
Their  knowledge  and  familiarity  with  the  "  Roman 
Imperial  Civil  Law,"  politically  a  code  of  absolutism, 
matured  in  the  reign  of  Justinian,  helped  the  lawyers 
much  in  reaching  their  views  on  this  point ;  and  court 
favor  with    arbitrary  monarchs  at  later  times,  did  yet 


T 


'  !■* 


tin 


90 


more  to  establish  tlic  le<:fal  assumption  as  to  tlie  limited 
nglit  of  individuals  to  and  in  all  their  possessions. 

Jiut  this  doctrine  of  "  Eminent  Domain,"  usurping  in 
its  tendencies,  and  often  tyrannical  in  its  operations,  is  a 
perversion  oi  fact,  nature,  an<l  truth,  having  no  other 
ground  to  rest  n])on  hut  this  :  the  State,  created  for  the 
defense  of  all  private  rights,  is  occasionally  comjxdled  to 
use  the  private  right  of  some  person,  which  accidentally 
becomes  the  necessary  means  of  protecting  the  private 
rights  of  all  in  the  community ;  and  the  person  thus 
stripped  of  some  private  right  thus  appropriated  by  the 
State,  is  at  once  entitled  to  full  indenmitication  out  of 
the  rights  of  all  those  not  so  devested  of  their  possessions. 

When  a  State  accpiires  additional  territory  by  con(]uest, 
purchase,  or  treaty  ;  if  there  be  vacant  or  confiscated  land 
in  it,  it  would  be  a  ])erversion  of  the  true  end  of  govern- 
ment, and  an  act  of  gross  usurpation  for  the  State  to 
assume  the  part  of  a  landlord,  and  of  a  great  landiiolder, 
letting  out  its  land  on  lease,  and  collecting  its  rents  from 
its  tenants.  The  territory  has  been  acquired  through 
the  material  means  furnished  by  all  those  who  contributed 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  Government ;  and  pften  chiefly, 
or  very  lai'gely,  by  the  personal  service  of  some  of  them, 
in  getting  possession  of  the  territory. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  State,  which,  after  all,  is  only  an 
agent  or  trustee,  to  seize  early  occasion  to  pass  over  the 
bulk  of  the  unoccupied  land  into  the  possession  of 
private  persons;  assigning  bounty  lands  to  those  who, 
by  their  personal  services,  have  contributed  actively  to 
the  ac(juisition  of  it,  and  selling  out  the  remainder  on 
reasonable  terms,  to  any  mend)ers  of  the  community 
wishing  to  purchase;  thus  increasing  the  area  of  private 
property,  and  the  number  of  laiulholders,  and  lightening 


91 


the  burden  of  taxes  laid  on  them  to  maintain  the  (rovern- 
inent. 

The  land  so  acMniired  hy  thene  new  pn>j)riet<)rK  iw,  and 
onj^lit  to  he,  as  niueli  theirs  as  any  property  can  he. 
Tiiey  have  hou^lit  it  with  their  sorviees,  or  their  money; 
and  are  indebted  to  no  one  for  their  ri^ht  to  it.  The 
State  is  merely  the  channel  through  which  they  derive 
and  trace  their  title,  and  has  no  claim  on  them  more  than 
on  any  other  landholder  under  its  protection. 


XXXIIL 


Bksidks  thefundamentjil  fact  that  all  value  and  j)ro|)erty 
is  the  result  of  private  industry,  skill,  and  econotny ;  the 
whole  history  of  ])nblic  and  j)rivate  pro])erty  when  con- 
trasted, proves  that  tlie  State  should  possess  and  hold  no 
more  property  than  is  sufficient  to  enable  it  to  i)erform  its 
functions  as  guardian  of  })rivate  rights. 

Govermnents  pay  more  and  spend  more  than  indi- 
viduals in  similar  transactions.  Governments  are  more 
frecpiently  and  more  largely  clieated ;  for  they  must 
always  act  through  agents,  the  State  itself  havitig  no 
personality ;  aiul  therefore,  the  vigilance,  foresight, 
economy,  and  good  faith,  generated  by  private  personal 
rights  and  interests,  are  wanting  in  the  transaction  of  the 
State's  affairs.     No  agent  can  be  trusted  like  one's  self. 

It  would  be  useless  labor  to  search  far  into  the  records 
of  history  for  examples  to  prove  how  often  States  have 
been  cheated  by  their  agents  high  in  office;  while  we 
have  close  at  hand  so  many  witnesses  in  the  United 
States,  and  in  the  individnal  States  which,  nominally, 
make  up  that  federal  body.      Avoiding  needless  details 


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and  personalities,  we  may  safely  refer  to  the  notorious 
fact,  that  of  late  years,  among  the  politicians  who  have 
filled  the  chief  posts  under  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  most  of  them  went  into  office  poor,  and  came  out,  or 
remain  in  office  rich ;  although  it  is  well  known  that  their 
salaries  are  too  moderate  to  have  made  their  fortunes. 
One  political  party  has  been  in  power  twenty-three 
years;  and  its  leaders  and  prominent  supporters  have 
become  immensely  rich  ;  and  when,  seven  years  ago,  a 
statesman,  who  had  earned  the  reputation  of  being  a 
rigid  reformer  of  abuses,  and  searcher  out  of  political  cor- 
ruption, was  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  these 
bloated  plunderers  of  the  Treasury  combined  to  procure 
a  false  return  as  to  the  result  of  the  election,  and  put 
into  office  the  candidate  who  had  not  been  elected  ;  and 
from  that  time  to  this,  the  systematic  plundering  of  the 
country  by  those  who  were  pretending  to  serve  it  has 
gone  on.  Since  the  false  President  tilled  a  term,  another 
election  has  taken  place,  under  circumstances  that  show 
thai;  the  tirst  essential  sought  in  a  candidate  for  that 
office,  is  well-established  corruptibility.  The  fact  of 
having  had  a  hand  in  more  than  one  of  the  gross  frauds 
perpetrated  on  the  Government  and  the  people,  is  a 
strong  recommendation  to  office  with  the  active  political 
agents  who  manage  the  elections. 

What  we  have  said  as  to  political  corruption  among  the 
United  States  officials,  is  equally  true,  on  a  smaller  scale 
(for  there  is  less  money  to  be  stolen)  as  to  the  officials  of 
the  States,  and  the  large  commercial  cities.  (See  the 
career  of  the  notorious  Boss  Tweed.) 

Again,  the  private  owner  of  property  improves  it  at 
less  cost  than  the  State  does,  having  no  motive  to  pecu- 
late on  his  own  rights,  as  the  agent  of  the  State  has  on 


those  of  tlie  public  ;  not  beins^  tempted  to  extravagance, 
by  having  the  State  treasury  to  fall  back  on.  The  his- 
tory of  private  expenditure  is  usually  that  of  economy ; 
that  of  public  expenditure  is,  very  largely,  that  of  cor- 
ruption and  waste. 

The  natural  use  of  property  is  the  use  and  enjoyment 
of  it  by  private  persons  whose  industry  and  economy 
created  it.  The  possession  and  use  of  it  by  the  State 
springs  altogetlier  from  the  existence  of  two  evils,  to 
guard  against  which  every  one  must  make  some  sacrifice 
of  rights,  to  enable  tlie  State  to  afford  security  against 
them. 

The  worst  of  all  governments  would  seem  to  be  a 
landlord  government,  like  that  of  the  British  in  India, 
claiming  that  the  country,  acre  by  acre,  belonged  to  the 
State,  and  that  State  foreign  to  the  country  and  people  it 
governs.  Any  country  in  which  the  great  bulk  of  tlie 
property,  especially  the  land,  say  nineteenth-twentieths 
of  it,  is  not  in  private  hands,  is  in  a  false  and  unnatual 
condition. 

Simplify  it  as  we  may,  the  work  government  has  to  do 
is  difficult  and  complex.  Some  of  it  concerns  more  espe- 
cially local  interests ;  and  that  portion  of  it  is  best  man- 
aged when  intrusted  to  authorities  of  a  local  origin.  In 
fact,  this  feature — the  localization  of  power,  burdens,  and 
responsibility,  in  matters  in  which  that  is  practicable — is 
characteristic  of  the  best  governments.  The  centraliza- 
tion at  one  point,  of  all  the  authority  and  resources  of 
the  community  for  all  public  purposes  (even  of  strictly 
local  interests),  especially  if  it  be  a  great  nation,  is  a  cer- 
tain source  of  usurpation  and  political  corruption. 

To  give  a  simple  exam{)le  of  the  locating  of  the  power 
of  the  State  at  different  points  where  it  is  needed.     The 


U'4^.-^^ 


' 


94 


maintenance  of  roads,  bridges,  and  ferries,  although 
needed  for  the  keeping  open  of  the  communications  of 
the  whole  country,  is  especially  important  to  each  part  of 
it,  in  whicli  each  of  these  public  conveniences  chances  to 
be  located.  The  chai-ge  of  maintaining  them,  therefore,  is 
usually  intrusted  to  a  commission  appointed  in  and  for 
each  county,  who  are  authorized  to  levy  the  cost  of  main- 
taining these  works,  by  assessments  on  the  people  of  the 
county.  The  State  may  further  empower  these  officials 
to  take  such  part  of  a  man's  land  as  is  needed  for  a  high- 
way, paying  him  a  valuation  for  it. 

So,  a  town  or  city  being  made  a  municipal  corporation, 
acquires  a  local  government  for  some  limited  purposes. 
The  State  may  assign  to  it  the  power  to  purchase,  by  a 
forced  sale,  the  land  of  private  persons,  within  the  limits  of 
the  municipality,  in  order  to  open  or  widen  a  street,  to  make 
a  market-place,  or  a  town  hall,  or  for  any  other  needed 
public  improvement.  But  in  assigning  this  power  to 
local  authorities,  tlie  State  stretches  the  so-called  right  of 
"eminent  domain"  to  the  utmost  extent  that  can  be 
justified.  It  makes  the  county,  or  the  city,  a  State  with- 
in the  State,  for  some  local  object,  in  order  to  facilitate 
the  objects  of  local  government  and  police  ;  and  gives  it 
the  power  to  raise  money,  by  taxes,  for  those  i)urpose8. 

But  this  does  not  authorize  the  corporation  to  raise 
money  by  taxation  for  purposes  foreign  to  the  object  for 
which  its  powers  were  granted.  A  municipal  corpora- 
tion goes  quite  beyond  its  charter,  when  it  raises  money, 
by  taxation,  to  carry  on  a  commercial  undertaking,  or  to 
assist  in  doing  so  ;  as  by  granting  a  honus^  or  an  exemp- 
tion from  taxes,  to  private  parties,  who  establish  a  fac- 
tory or  other  business  enterprise  ;  or  to  undertake  such 
on  the  part  of  the  corporation.     Any  tax-payer  may  well 


Mil  1  > 
i  l|i! 


95 


object  that,  "  This  is  taking  my  money  for  no  legitimate 
object  of  government ;  but  to  enter  on,  or  assist  other 
people  in  projects,  in  which  I  have  taken  no  pait,  and  I 
may  decline  all  responsibility."  I  believe  that  if  a  tax 
were  levied  for  the  exj^ress  purpose  of  raising  such  a 
Jwnus,  and  tlie  tax-payer  were  to  refuse  payment,  tiie 
courts  of  law  would  sustain  him  in  his  refusal. 


XXXIY. 


it 


We  have  commented  on  tlie  dangerous  character  of 
this  doctrine  of  "eminent  domain,"  and  its  liability  to 
abuse  in  tlie  hands  of  the  State.  But  some  govern- 
ments, fro!n  sheer  carelessness  as  to  private  rights,  have 
gone  far  beyond  the  theory  on  which  the  right  is  founded, 
and  given  a  false,  unjust,  and  dangerous  latitude  to  the 
right  of  "  eminent  domain."  We  will  give  a  late  exam- 
ple, near  at  hand : 

In  an  important  province  in  British  i^^ortli  America  a 
landholder  had,  on  his  farm,  some  very  copious  springs, 
used  to  work  a  mill,  and  he  had,  near  at  hand,  a  hill  of 
considerable  height.  A  town  of  twenty  thousand  peo- 
ple, three  or  four  tniles  off,  on  the  other  side  of  a  con- 
siderable rivei",  was  in  need  of  a  supply  of  good  watei*. 
These  copious  springs  could  furnish  a  good  and  sufficient 
supply  ;  and  the  hill,  a  good  site  for  a  reservoir,  fvom 
which  it  could  be  conveyed  to  the  town. 

Here  was  a  plain  case  of  one  party  owning  property, 
which  another  party  wished  to  acquire.  The  State  had 
not  the  least  interest  in  the  matter,  to  call  for  the  appli- 
cation of  the  right  of  "eminent  domain."  Audit  cer- 
tainly  had   no  right  to   assign  its   powers,   under  that 


96 


theory,  to  a  municipality,  to  be  exercised  beyond  its  own 
jurisdiction  and  boundaries,  in  the  county  around  it. 
The  matter  concerned  only  an  individual  on  the  one 
hand,  and  a  corporation  on  the  otlier. 

Common  justice  dictated  that,  if  the  town  needed  this 
source  of  pure  water,  the  corporation  must  offer  to  the 
owner,  a  stranger  and  a  foreigner  to  the  town,  his  land 
lying  miles  outside  of  its  boundaries,  a  price  sufficient  to 
induce  him  to  sell  it.  If  he  refused  their  offer,  this 
foreign  corporation  must  offer  more,  or  wait  until  he 
changed  his  mind. 

But  the  parliament  of  this  province,  full,  doubtless,  of 
wise  and  honest  men,  and  especially  of  learned  and  adroit 
lawyers,  not  content,  in  their  legisla  ing  zeal,  with  exer- 
cising the  right  of  "eminent  domain  *^  for  the  State  ;  must 
extend  and  pervert  its  application  for  the  convenience  of 
a  local  corporation,  to  enable  it  to  make  a  good  bargain 
out  of  a  private  propri'jior. 

Under  a  statute  enacted  for  this  and  similar  cases,  the 
property  of  a  landholder  may  be,  and  was  appraised  at  a 
very  moderate  price,  indeed,  a  very  low  price,  far  below 
what  he  was  willing  to  sell  it  at ;  perhaps  not  one-tenth 
of  what  it  was  worth  to  this  covetous  and  intrusive  pur- 
cliaser ;  taken  from  the  owner  by  a  legal  proceeding  which 
was  a  mockery  of  justice,  and  given  to  a  corporation,  with 
which  he  had  no  connection  whatever. 

This  law  teaches  the  principle  that :  ' '  Where  one 
man  has  property,  which  may  be  useful  to,  and  is 
coveted  by  many,  especially  if  that  many  be  a  corporation, 
the  State  will  limit  the  price,  and  force  a  sale  for  their 
benefit." 

It  is  true  that  there  have  been  a  large  class  of  cases,  in 
which  the  State  has  forced  the  transfer  of  private  prop- 


97 


crty,  wliieli  tlie  owners  did  not  wish  to  sell ;  I  mean  land 
on  the  line  of  railroads.  But  these  cases  stand  on  a  totally 
different  footing. 

We  have  seen  that  the  State,  in  order  to  perform  its 
functions,  as  the  protector  of  all  private  rights,  must  have 
access  to  every  part  of  the  country.  It  must  have  high- 
ways throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 
Now  railroads  are  highways  of  a  peculiar  kind,  in 
addition  to  the  ordinary  highways.  The  means  of  rapid 
communication  and  transportation  have  become  necessary 
to  the  State  and  community.  To  secure  this,  railroad 
companies  are  chartered.  Under  these  charters,  private 
landholders  may  be  stripped  of  their  land,  or  some  part 
of  it,  by  a  forced  sale  to  a  railroad — not  for  the  company's 
benefit,  but  to  supply  a  supposed  public  need,  or  great 
convenience  to  the  State  and  the  community. 

No  railroad  company  can  ever  acquire  as  high  and  clear 
a  title,  to  the  land  thus  obtained  by  these  forced  sales  to 
it,  as  the  light  and  title  of  the  private  persons,  who  have 
been  devested  of  theii'  land,  to  make  wa^  for  the  railroad. 
These  corporations  are  but  chartered  oommon  carriers, 
subject  to  the  law  as  such.  It  is  true  they  have  been 
granted,  each  a  monopoly  in  the  use  of  its  highway,  for 
three  reasons  : 

1.  Because,  the  peculiar  construction  of  the  road  ex- 
cludes the  use  on  it  of  the  means  of  transportation  used 
on  ordinary  highways. 

2.  Because,  if  their  road  were  open  to  the  trains  of 
other  railroads,  accidents  fatal  to  life  and  destructive  to 
property,  would  be  vastly  multiplied. 

3.  In  order  to  induce  the  company  to  make  the  great 
outlay  needed  to  build  the  road  and  keep  it  in  working 
order. 


'"ll 


<;M^I- 


98 


But  these  roadfi,  having  been  brono^lit  into  existence 
purely  for  the  beneiit  of  the  State  and  tlie  connnunity, 
are  still  under  tlie  control  of  the  State  ^  which  :nay  fix 
rates,  times,  and  terms  of  transportation.  It  may,  per- 
haps, even  enforce  a  sale  of  the  railroad  with  less  stretch  of 
authority  than  it  had  used  toward  the  private  landhold- 
ers, who  had  to  make  way  for  the  railroad.  As  the  State 
may  have  occasion  to  close  one  highway  and  open 
another,  so  it  may  do  with  a  railroad.  But  it  is  bound  to 
pay  tlie  corporation  the  cost,  or  at  least  the  value,  of  its 
property.  For  the  charter,  granted  by  the  State,  was  the 
inducement  which  led  the  corporators  to  the  outlay  they 
made. 

XXXY. 

We  have  said  that  the  resources  of  the  State  consist  of 
its  claims  on  personal  services,  and  on  private  property. 
Wiiat  are  the  principles  which  should  regulate  and  limit 
the  exerc'se  of  these  powers?  First,  as  to  personal 
service. 

The  object  of  poHtical  society ;  the  true  motive  that 
first  drew  men  into,  and  still  keeps  them  in  it ;  is  to 
obtain  the  aid  of  their  associates  in  defending  their  private 
rights.  Any  one  who  has  joined  himself  to  a  political 
community,  or  has  been  born  in  it,  and  had  his  rights 
protected  by  it,  is  bound  to  give  his  aid  in  defending  the 
rights  of  his  associates,  and  in  upholding  the  community 
from  which  they  all  seek  protection. 

Thus,  as  was  the  usual  practice  in  primitive  times,  the 
local  magistrate  may  call  on  all  the  men  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, to  give  aid  in  quelling  a  riot,  or  an  insurrection 
against  the  law,  in  preventing  a  crime,  or  in  arresting  a 


99 


that 
is  to 


es,  tlie 
glibor- 
'ection 
sting  a 


criminal.  Tlie  State,  when  threatened  by  a  great  danger, 
as  invasion  by  a  powerful  enemy,  nuiy  rightly  call  for  the 
services  of  every  man  abh)  to  bear  arms,  to  resist  the 
enemy.  And  tliis  is  true  in  any  part  of  the  country 
especially  in  danger,  even  when  a  general  levy  is  not 
needed  thronghout  the  whole  country.  Moreover,  there 
are  other  public  duties,  in  which  the  official  agents  of  the 
State  need  occasional  aid ;  which  may  be  rendered,  and  in 
some  cases,  are  best  rendered  l)y  men  not  in  office— for 
example,  by  men  drawn  as  jurors,  to  ascertain  facts, 
involved  in  cases  brought  into  court.  There  are  many 
other  matters  in  which  private  men  may  be  jnstly  called 
upon  to  perform  occasional  public  duties,  as  witnesses, 
appraisers,  experts,  etc.  - 

But  the  right  of  the  State  to  demand  personal  service, 
can  never  be  justly  extended  to  compelling  a  man  to  adopt 
a  special  profession,  trade,  or  calling.  Although  tlie  State 
may,  and  often  has,  compelled  men  to  bear  arms,  or  labor 
on  defensive  works,  it  lias  no  right  to  choose  a  man's 
occupation,  or  means  of  earning  his  living,  for  him  ;  to 
compel  him  to  take  ujd  the  trade  of  a  soldier  or  sailor,  any 
more  than  the  profession  of  a  lawyer,  or  physician,  or  the 
trade  of  a  mechanic,  or  the  occupation  of  a  plowman. 

It  would  be  an  utter  perversion  of  the  relations  of  the 
State,  to  those  who  compose  the  community  which 
created  the  State,  if  these  persons  were  not  free  to 
choose  for  themselves  their  occupations  and  pursuits,  ac- 
cording to  their  aptitudes  and  opportunities.  The  State 
came  into  existence  to  serve  the  puq)oses  of  individuals ; 
not  individuals  to  serve  the  purposes  of  the  State.  If 
any  control  in  this  matter  of  men's  callings,  external  to 
the  party  himself,  can  be  justly  claimed,  it  is  that  of 
parents  and  guardians  alone. 


fm 


I 


100 


W 


Nor,  on  a  man's  attaining  skill  in  any  art,  science,  or 
profession,  has  the  State  a  right  to  force  him  into  its  serv- 
ice, in  the  exercise  of  his  occupation. 

The  State  has  no  claim  on  an  individual,  beyond  that 
which  it  has  on  all  and  each  one  in  the  community  ;  un- 
less he  has  made  a  contract  with  the  State,  binding  him- 
self to  the  performance  of  services  in  the  line  of  his  pro- 
fession. When,  in  England,  five  centuries  ago,  Edward 
III  was  about  to  build  Windsor  Castle,  in  magnificent 
style;  instead  of  alluring  workmen,  by  contracts  and 
wages,  he  assessed  each  county  in  England  to  send  him  so 
many  masons,  tilers,  and  carpenters,  as  if  he  had  been 
levying  an  army.  He  showed  great  moderation  in  not 
first  impressing  the  architects  to  design  and  superintend 
the  structure,  and  the  sculptors  and  painters  to  adorn 
this  palatial  fortress.  This  measure  makes  it  manifest 
that  the  first  elements  of  private  right,  and  personal  lib- 
erty, were  not  then  understood,  or  were  at  times  disre- 
garded in  England. 

The  only  exception  to  this  right  of  men,  to  choose 
their  own  trades  and  occupations,  we  can  think  of  at  this 
moment,  is,  where  the  State,  to  restrain  a  growing  evil, 
and  to  abate  a  common  nuisance,  has  taken  charge  of  for- 
saken children,  and  youthful  criminals.  To  relieve  itself 
of  this  burden,  it  may  apprentice  the  derelict  children, 
to  be  taught  trades,  which,  perhaps,  as  adults  they  would 
not  have  chosen.  And,  in  the  case  of  the  youthful  crim- 
inals, the  State  may  turn  them  over  to  occupations,  in 
which  they  will  be  placed  long  under  vigilant  control,  as 
in  the  military  or  naval  service.  Yet  when  it  is  practi- 
cable, these  derelict  children,  and  even  the  youthful 
criminals,  should  be  allowed  some  latitude  of  choice  as  to 
their  callings  for  earning  a  living. 


101 


I  can  hardly  imagine  a  grosser  violation  of  the  natural 
relation  between  the  members  of  a  comnmnity  and  the 
State  which  they  have  establisiied  over  themselves,  than 
the  French  system  of  "  conscription  "  :  putting  the  names 
of  young  men  into  a  lottery,  to  decide  which  among  them 
shall  take  up  the  trade  of  a  soldier,  for  the  best  years  of 
his  life — at  wages  beneath  those  of  the  meanest  laborer ; 
in  order  that  the  rest  of  the  community  may  cheaply 
escape  from  military  service.  This  is  a  gross  over- 
stretching of  the  authonty  of  the  State.  Yet,  although 
in  the  extent  of  its  application  to  the  nation,  it  goes  far 
beyond,  in  enormity  it  falls  short  of  the  old  English 
press-gang  system  of  forcibly  manning  the  navy  :  arrest- 
ing as  criminals  sailors  and  watermen,  anybody,  in  short, 
who  looked  like  a  longshoreman,  and  pressing  them  into 
the  naval  service.    . 

These  things,  both  in  France  and  England,  originated 
in  the  intense  selfishness  and  injustice  of  the  mass  of  the 
community— ever  ready  to  sacrifice  others  to  secure  them- 
selves. Any  man  may  devote  his  life,  his  labor,  or  his 
wealth  for  the  good  of  his  country.  But  his  countrymen 
have  no  right  to  select  any  one  as  a  victim  for  sacrifice, 
while  others,  under  equal  obligation  to  the  State,  are  ex- 
empted. For  example  :  When  a  horrid  chasm  suddenly 
yawned  open  in  the  forum  (the  story,  we  believe,  is  told 
in  Livy's  somewhat  fabulous  history)  the  soothsayers 
foretold  that  great  calamities  would  happen,  if  the  most 
valuable  thing  Rome  possessed  was  not  thrown  into 
it.  While  they  consulted  as  to  what  was  the  greatest 
treasure  Rome  had,  Curtius  Melius,  a  gallant  youth,  put 
on  his  armor,  caparisoned  his  horse,  led  him  into  the 
forum,  blindfolded,  and  mounted  him.  Then  exclaiming 
"  Rome  has  no  treasure  as  great  as  courage  and  arms !" 


fT^ 


I    1 
I    1 


I 


!    I 


iiil!  5 '    f  1 


109 


he  spurred  his  steed  on  to  a  desperate  leap  into  the  mys- 
terious chasm  ;  wliieli  at  once  closed  up,  as  if  it  liad  never 
threatened  destruction  to  Home  !  Curtius  may  have  had 
a  riglit  to  take  this  fatal  leap.  Hut  the  llonianH  had  no 
right  to  throw  Curtius  into  the  chasm,  even  to  attain  that 
great  end,  the  safety  of  liome. 

XXXYI. 

The  end  for  which  the  State  exists  is  to  afford  security 
to  private  rights.  What  we  have  learned  to  call  "public 
rights  "  exist  only  for  the  protection  of  private  rights  ; 
came  into  existence  after,  and  are  derived  from  them. 
Private  rights  had  come  into  being  before  there  were 
any  public  rights  whatever.  We  cannot  repeat  this 
truth  too  ofteii,  or  put  it  into  too  many  shapes.  For  both 
statesmen  andpi'ivate  persons  aie  ever  losing  sight  of  this 
root  of  all  political  principles. 

In  creating  a  State,  and  establishing  a  government, 
men  are  seeking,  not  an  end,  but  a  means  to  an  end. 
Governments  are  not  ends  in  themselves,  but  simply  the 
means  devised  for  attaining  the  great  end — tlie  security 
of  private  rights.  Yet  men  have  often,  with  this  view, 
built  up  a  great  and  irresistible  power,  which  resulted  in 
a  ruinous  and  merciless  tyranny,  not  protecting,  but 
trampling  on  all  their  rights. 

The  State  cannot  give  protection  to  private  rights,  un- 
less it  has  the  means  of  acting,  the  command  of  value,  or 
of  personal  services.  Indeed,  it  stands  in  need  of  values, 
chiefly  to  purchase  personal  services.  But  as  all  value  is 
the  result  of  the  industry  and  skill  of  individuals  ;  they, 
if  they  want  the  protection  of  a  government,  must  con- 
tribute the  means  needed  to  support  it. 


103 


111  more  primitive  states  of  society,  these  contributions 
take  the  shape,  chiefly,  of  personal  service.  In  more 
advanced  stages  of  civilization,  they  take  the  form,  chiefly, 
of  taxes.  The  motive  for  ])ayin<ir  tjixes  is  to  secure  ])ro- 
tection  to  one's  rights.  So  that  taxation  and  protection 
are  co-relative  terms — a  right  linked  to  duty. 

What  are  the  principles  which  should  guide  and  con- 
trol the  State  in  levying  taxes  'i  Chiefly  these :  The 
amount  raised  in  taxes  should  not  exceed  what  is  needed 
to  maintain  the  State  in  efticiency ;  for  that  is  taking 
from  the  tax-payer  more  than  is  needed  to  provide  for  the 
protection  of  his  rights.  Moreover,  the  taxation  should 
be  equable.  That  is,  no  man  should  be  made  to  pay  the 
tax,  or  any  part  of  the  tax,  that  should  fall  on  another. 

But  when  we  come  to  arrange  a  fair  and  just  system 
of  taxation,  many  natural  difliculties  stand  in  the  way. 
We  find  that  the  State  must  eml)race  under  its  protec- 
tion multitudes,  who  neither  do  nor  can  pay  taxes — as 
most  women  and  all  children,  who  have  no  property. 
In  fact,  the  adult  laborer,  who  consumes  all  he  earns, 
can  pay  no  taxes;  and  the  attempt  to  tax  him  directly, 
falls  on  his  employer,  indirectly.  Thus,  a  tax  on  farm 
laborers  is  a  tax  on  farms,  for  this  tax  raises  the  cost 
of  living  to  the  laborer ;  which  results  in  a  rise  of 
wages,  and  in  the  cost  of  cultivation.  This  objection 
applies  to  all  poll-taxes,  whicii  have  always  been  the  most 
ditiicult  to  collect,  most  irritating  to  the  people,  and  have 
caused  many  dangerous  insurrections  in  past  times.  This 
reveals  to  us  that  taxes  are  of  two  kinds — direct  and 
indirect. 

Direct  taxes  are  laid  on,  and  paid  out  of  the  savings 
from  the  result  of  labor — that  is,  out  of  property.     Al- 
.e  State  afiords  protection  to  other  rights  besides 


i   ::'''f 


though 


104 


those  of  property,  yet  as  all  taxes  must  be  paid  out  of 
tlie  results  of  men's  industry — and  the  more  property  a 
man  has,  the  more  protection  he  needs  for  it — there  is 
much  equity  in  proportioning  a  man's  tax  to  tlie  amount 
of  property  he  has.  In  direct  taxation  State^j  seldom  fall 
short  of  this.  But  some  governments  have  gone  beyond 
this,  and  have  departed  from  the  true  principle  and  just 
ground  of  equable  taxation,  based  on  the  protection  it 
affords. 

They  have  proceeded  on  this  false  principle,  how  to 
raise  the  most  revenue.  Inasmuch  as  a  man  who  has  a 
large  property  can  usually  pay  his  large  tax  more  easily 
than  he  who  has  but  a  small  property  can  pay  his  small 
tax ;  governments  often  are  guilty  of  increasing  the  ratio 
of  taxation,  sometimes  by  a,  graduated  increase  of  the 
ratio  of  an  income  tax — oftener  by  heavier  duties  and 
excises  on  commodities  used  chiefly  by  the  wealthy,  or 
by  exempting  small  properties  or  incomes  from  taxation. 

Now.  as  the  value  of  the  protection  the  State  affords  to 
property,  or  income,  is  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  a 
man's  property,  or  income ;  this  increasing  rate  of  taxa- 
tion is  simply  making  the  rich  pay  a  portion  of  other  men's 
taxes :  it  is  an  insidious  war  upon  wealth.  For,  if  by 
any  maaceuvre  in  imposing  taxes,  that  laid  on  an  amount 
of  property  worth,  say,  $100,000,  or  on  the  income  de- 
rived from  it,  in  the  hands  of  ten  men,  is  increased  on 
an  equal  amount  in  tlie  hands  of  one  man,  it  is  imposing 
a  fine  on  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  as  if  it  were  a  crime. 

Income  taxes  are  otherwise  unjust.  A  merchant,  in  a 
prosperous  or  lucky  year,  may  have  a  larger  income  than 
a  great  proprietor.  A  professional  man  in  liigli  practise 
may  have  as  large.  Another  man  may  have  as  large  an 
income,  derived  from  property  in  another  country,  in 


105 


which  he  \yAjB  high  taxes  on  it ;  and  the  State  he  lives 
under  can  give  no  protection  to  the  property  abroad. 

The  State  lias  no  claim  on  property  beyond  an  equable 
contribution  with  the  other  private  property  under  its 
protection.  The  only  properties  which  should  be  ex- 
empted from  taxation  are  those  whicli  are  of  so  little 
value,  that  the  tax  would  little  exceed  the  cost  of  collect- 
ing it. 

The  system  of  taxation  on  an  increasing  ratio,  in  pro- 
portion to  property  or  income,  is  the  germinating  seed, 
which  may  well  grow  up  into  the  usurpation  by  the  State 
of  a  right  to  decide  that  some  men  have  acquired  too  much 
property  ;  that  he  who  has  a  million  in  money,  or  20,000 
acres  in  land,  must  yield  up  half  liis  wealth  to  the  State, 
or  for  division  among  penniless  or  landless  men.  Such  a 
government  will  soon  discover  that  one  hundred  thousand 
in  money,  or  2,000  acres  in  land,  is  too  much  for  one 
man  ;  so  a  new  distribution  must  be  made.  And  it  will 
go  on,  seizing  and  dividing  the  property,  created  by  in- 
dustry, and  accumulated  by  economy,  until  this  system 
of  public  robbery  left  no  security  to  property,  and  had 
sapped  and  destroyed  the  foundations  of  industry  and 
economy,  which  alone  can  create  it. 

On  similar  grounds  it  might  be  objected  :  What  right 
has  any  man  to  more  than  one  house,  or  Que  farm,  while 
others  have  none?  Or,  in  si lort,  wliy  should  one  man 
have  an  abundant  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper ;  while 
another  lias  but  a  short  allowance  of  dry  bread? 

The  acquisition  of  property  by  individuals,  and  their 
exclusive  control  of  it,  is  essential  to  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  connnunity ;  even  of  those  who  have  no  proprie- 
tary interest  in  any  part  of  it,  but  only  derive  employ- 
ment and  maintenance  from  it  in  the  hands  of  the  owners. 


'I 


I'' 


106 


It  furnishes  the  chief  and  necessary  means  of  supporting 
the  State.  From  the  very  nature  of  property,  it  is  espe- 
cially open  to  encroachment  and  trespass  by  both  individu- 
als and  the  public — for  botli  may  undermine  and  destroy 
it.  Therefore,  the  holders  of  property  are,  as  a  class, 
entitled  to  whatever  amount  of  influence  and  control  in 
the  government  may  be  needed  to  secure  their  proprietary 
rights. 

In  countries  where  property  is  not  safe,  men  fear  to 
invest  their  earnings  in  visible  and  tangible  undertakings 
which  improve  the  country:  as  highly  cultivated  farms, 
improved  live-stock,  costly  and  durable  buildings,  mining 
enterprises,  and  other  valuable  and  permanent  resources. 
They  either  wisely  slacken  their  intense  industry,  toiling 
less,  and  spending  what  they  earn  ;  or  they  give  to  their 
earnings  such  shapes  as  can  be  carried  about  the  person, 
concealed  in  tlie  house,  perhaps  buried  in  the  garden ; 
or  send  it  to  another  country  where  property  is  in  less 
danger  from  public  and  private  robbers. 

But  the  way  the  State  commonly  plunders  the  people 
is  by  indirect  taxes.  These  differ  from  direct  taxes  chiefly 
in  this :  They  are  not  laid  on  the  property  the  tax-payer 
expects  to  keep  in  his  hands,  but  on  property  in  transitu, 
that  which  he  got  to  part  with,  as  goods  imported  into 
the  country  for, sale,  or  on  tlie  manufacturer's  productions, 
or  the  merchant's  stock  in  trade,  or  on  the  license,  or  per- 
mit, granted  by  the  State,  to  practise  some  profession,  or 
follow  some  special  occupation. 

In  all  these  cases,  the  person  who  pays  the  tax,  expects 
to  be  indemnified  for  his  outlay  in  taxes  paid,  and  more 
than  indemnified,  by  the  profit  he  makes  out  of  those  to 
whom  he  sells,  or  out  of  those  who  employ  him  in  his 
licensed  occupation. 


107 


These  purchasers  and  employers  are  the  real  payers  of 
the  indirect  tax.  Now,  the  payer  of  a  direct  tax  knows, 
to  a  penny,  how  much  lie  pays  in  taxes.  In  the  indirect 
tax,  tlie  party  who  seems  to  pay  it,  is  repaid  his  outlay 
with  a  profit,  and  often  a  monstrous  profit,  extracted 
from  those  who  deal  with  him,  either  buying  his  goods, 
or  employing  him  in  his  licensed  occupation.  These  last, 
unlike  the  payer  of  the  direct  tax,  never  know  how  much 
they  pay  the  State.  For  their  tax  is  inextricably  mixed 
up  with  the  price  of  the  article  bought,  or  the  cost  of  the 
service  paid  for. 

The  whole  amount  paid  in  direct  taxes,  deducting  the 
cost  of  collecting  it,  goes  into  the  treasury  of  the  State. 
The  cost  of  collecting  indirect  taxes  is  usually  far  greater. 
The  facilities  for  fraud  on  the  revenue  are  greater  still. 
And  a  large  class  of  dealers  and  licensed  parties  make 
great  profit  by  that  kind  of  taxation.  So  that,  the  State, 
in  collecting  the  same  amount  of  revenue  by  direct  taxes, 
takes  less  from  the  people,  than  when  it  is  collected  by 
indirect  taxation. 

The  State,  therefore,  in  providing  itself  with  the  means 
needed  to  protect  the  rights  of  every  one  in  the  com- 
munity, should  do  so  in  the  mode  which  least  trammels 
the  freedom  of  individuals,  and  encroaches  least  on  their 
acquisitions.     This  alone  is  honest  taxation. 


XXXVII. 

While  society,  in  its  merely  social  aspect,  originates 
with  the  social  and  domestic  instincts ;  the  State,  or  so- 
ciety in  its  political  aspect,  springs  from  the  purely  selfish 
instincts  of  mankind.  Self-seeking  man  looks  around  for 
personal  safety,  and  protection  to  his  rights. 


'   '  !    ! 


f, ! 


108 


It  would  be  well  if  this  selfish  seeking  for  safety  were 
pure  and  simple,  and  less  active  and  aggressive  in  its 
nature.  But  no  sooner  do  men  find  themselves  under  a 
government  with  powers  for  their  protection,  than,  as 
these  powers  cannot  exercise  themselves,  but  must  be 
wielded  by  men  ;  there  springs  up  a  keen,  often  a  fierce, 
struggle  between  individuals  to  act  for  the  State,  and  ex- 
ercise some  portion  of  its  functions. 

The  government  is  recognized  as  a  convenient  institu- 
tion, a  handy  machine,  for  working  out  the  ends  of 
private  interest  and  ambition ;  and  vast  numbers  of  the 
most  able  and  energetic  members  of  the  community,  soon 
cease  to  view  it  in  any  otlier  light — in  their  hearts — ^but 
their  mouths  are  fuller  than  ever  of  professions  of  devo- 
tion to  the  public  good. 

He  has  not  lived  long,  or  much  observed  men,  who  has 
not  detected  the  rareness  of  unselfish  patriotism,  of  real 
devotion  to  the  public  good,  the  general  absence  of 
honest  and  honorable  motives  among  those  who  seek  for 
place  and  power.  A  wise  man  of  the  last  century  was  so 
forcibly  struck  with  the  frequency,  ease,  and  success 
with  which  men  of  the  worst  character  put  on  this  cloak 
of  hypocrisy,  that  he  was  impelled  to  exclaim,  "  Patriot- 
ism is  the  last  refuge  of  a  scoundrel !" 

Abuses  in  office  grow  up  rapidly,  until  tlie  powers  of 
government  are  perverted  into  the  properties  or  privileges 
of  persons  in  office ;  or  of  classes,  which,  as  far  as  they 
can,  throw  the  burden  of  supporting  the  State,  and  them- 
selves, on  the  remainder  of  the  community,  who  chance  to 
be  out  of  favor  with  them. 

This  abuse  does  not  depend  on  form  of  government. 
The  autocratic  despot  has  often  striven  to  use  his  vast 
power  economically,  seeking  to  give  protection  fairly  to 


i 
.1 


"I 


109 


all  under  his  rule.  But  the  best  of  them  is  often  sur- 
rounded and  misled  by  those  who,  seeking  only  to  serve 
their  own  private  interests,  contrive  to  make  him  their 
agent,  and  even  tlieir  tool. 

It  needs  little  knowledge  of  history  to  teach  us,  that 
tiie  most  unscrupulous  tyrant  is  a  dominant  party,  es- 
pecially if  it  has  been  exasperated  by  a  long  struggle 
with  its  opponents.  These  party  struggles  are  common 
to  every  form  of  government.  But  their  course  is,  per- 
haps, most  distinctly  traced  in  republics  and  democracies. 
But  under  every  form  of  government  the  result  is  the 
same.  Instead  of  the  State  being  ruled  with  a  view, 
simply,  to  secure  all  the  rights  of  each  member  of  the 
community  ;  the  government  is  administered  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  party  in  power,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  at  the 
cost  of  the  party  out  of  power. 

This  has  seldom  been  more  plainly  manifested  than  in  the 
United  States,  and  France  at  this  time.  In  both  of  these 
countries  universal  manhood  suffrage  is  the  nominal  basis 
of  political  power  ;  and  office  and  power,  of  course,  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  demagogues.  (For  democracies 
have  demagogues  in  place  of  statesmen.)  These  have  per- 
suaded the  major  part  of  the  people,  by  the  most  plausi- 
ble theories,  that  the  value  and  returns  for  their  own 
labor  and  productions  are  greatly  increased,  by  throwing 
burdens  and  obstructions  on  the  labor  and  productions 
of  other  portions  of  the  people  of  those  countries. 

These  burdens  and  obstructions  on  trade  and  industry 
take  the  shape  of  high  duties  on  imported  goods.  Not 
so  much  to  bring  revenue  to  the  State,  as  profit  to  the 
home  producers  of  commodities  similar  to  those  that 
would  be  imported  from  abroad. 

In  France  there  are  two  great  classes  of  piuuucers,  be- 
6" 


r 


110 


']^f\\ 


I  i ! 


I'.  I 


i 

f  M  I 


sides  others,  on  whom  this  obstmction  of  free,  natural 
commerce  weiglis  heavily.  The  producer?  of  wines  and 
of  silks.  In  the  United  States,  there  are  four  great 
classes  of  producers,  besides  others,  who  are  robbed  by 
this  system  of  taxation.  The  growers  of  exportable 
grain,  of  animal  food,  of  cotton,  and  the  miners  of  the 
precious  metals.  Tliis  »o-called  "  protective  policy  "  cuts 
tliem  off  from  a  large  part  of  the  natural  profits  of  unre- 
stricted trade  and  exchange  in  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  For  tlie  duties  on  imported  goods,  wliich  come 
in  exchange  for  goods  exported,  take  from  the  home  pro- 
ducers 30  or  40,  in  some  cases  60  or  100,  per  cent  of 
what  they  might  receive  in  return  for  what  they  send 
abroad.  Is  this  distributing  the  burden  of  supporting 
the  State  equably  on  tliem  and  on  other  classes? 

Has  our  reader  ever  considered  what  is  the  nature  and 
origin  of  tliat  offense,  which  is  called  smuggling?  Steal- 
ing, and  robbing,  and  the  destruction  of  your  neighbor's 
property,  and  a  multitude  of  other  acts,  are  crimes  in 
their  very  nature  ;  and  were  criminal  before  any  human 
law  undertook  to  punish  them. 

But  there  is,  in  Mature,  no  such  offense  as  smuggling. 
An  essential  ingredient,  in  your  natural  liberty,  is  the 
right  to  carry,  or  send  the  proceeds  of  your  industry,  any 
part  of  your  portable  property,  to  the  best  market  you 
can  find  for  it.  And  when  you  have  there  exchanged  it 
for  other  commodities,  you  have  naturally  an  equal  right 
to  bring  your  new  acquisitions  home  witli  you.  They 
are  as  much  yours  as  that  was  which  you  gave  for  them. 
These  are  the  natural  and  justifiable  acts,  out  of  which 
governments  have  manufactured  the  offense  of  smug- 
gling. They  create  the  crime  by  legislation  ;  they  pro- 
vide for  its  punishment  by  further  legislation. 


^f 


Ill 


Almost  every  coinmercial  country  (except  Holland)  has 
made  its  laws  against  stniiggling  a  complete  and  attractive 
school  for  training  large  classes  of  people  to  deception, 
fraud,  perjury,  and  violence ;  by  the  great  profit  held  out 
to  them,  on  articles  overburdened  with  most  unfair 
taxation,  utterly  disproportional  to  that  levied  on  other 
property.  Yet  States  wonder  at  the  frauds  on  which  they 
themselves  have  put  a  premium. 

It  is  needless  here  to  consider  further  the  principles 
of  a  false  political  economy,  and  its  aggressions  on  man's 
natural  rights.  The  selfish  propensities  of  men  are 
always  striving,  in  civil  society,  to  throw  the  burden  of 
supporting  the  State  on  other  people,  and  off  from  them- 
selves. They  even  devise  unnecessary  taxes,  not  to  raise 
revenues  for  the  State ;  but  with  the  sinister  and  selfish 
object  of  making  their  own  trades  and  occupations  more 
profitable  than  Nature  gave  them  the  means  and  oppor- 
tunities of  becoming. 

XXXYIII. 

We  must  repeat,  that  although  the  origin  of  the  State 
is  remote  and  obscure ;  and  the  development  and  com- 
plexity of  its  government,  of  very  gradual  growth ;  yet 
we  have  no  reason  to  think  that  the  end  and  purpose  for 
which  it  exists  has  undergone  a  change.  Its  single  and 
simple  object  is  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  those  who 
live  under  its  rule. 

What  government  now  existing,  or  of  past  times,  can 
we  point  out  as  having  limited  its  action  and  its  legisla- 
tion to  this  simple  programme — -the  defense  of  the  rights 
of  individuals  living  under  it  ? 

They  all  have  either  used  their  powers  for  the  profit 
of  some  favored  portion  of  the  community,  at  the  cost 


-?'3 


If-'    • 

i-  ■  A 


fr 


ill 


II!  I    III 


t    .1 


ililil! 


;  ! 


112 


of  others  not  favored ;  or  they  have  stretched  their 
prerogatives,  by  usurping  functions  and  powers,  which 
naturally  belong  to  individuals,  and  of  right  should  re- 
main in  their  hands.  These  abuses  have  varied  in  differ- 
ent ages  and  countries,  but  they  have  never  ceased  to 
exist.  A  large  part  of  history  is  made  up  of  the  strug- 
gles of  portions  of  nations  resisting  the  encroachments 
of  their  own  governments,  on  their  natural'  or  legal 
rights.  These  are  among  the  most  painful,  yet  instruct- 
ive, chapters  in  the  annals  of  mankind. 

Many  governments  have  obstructed  and  counteracted, 
sometimes  for  ages,  the  provident  arrangements  of  Nat- 
ure for  promoting  the  progress  of  mankind  ;  and  this 
often  by  blundering  legislation,  with  the  best  intentions, 
in  matters  foreign  to  the  true  end  of  government. 

They  have  undertaken  to  regulate  the  people's  religion, 
and  still  do  so,  under  the  pretense  of  educating  them. 
To  regulate  their  trade  and  control  their  industry  and 
occupations,  by  giving  bounties  to  some  pursuits,  while 
putting  obstacles  and  even  prohibitions  on  others.  Gov- 
ernments have,  at  times,  undertaken  to  regulate  people's 
dress,  diet,  and  habits  of  life,  by  sumptuary  laws ;  and  of 
late  years  have  been  constantly  urged  to,  and  often  have, 
prescribed  what  they  shall  not  drink.  Nothing  has  stood 
more  in  the  way  of  human  progress  and  civilization  than 
the  blundering  of  governments  on  matters  outside  of 
their  true  jurisdiction. 

Although  governments  have  often  been  forced  upon 
people  by  violence — as  by  wars,  civil  and  foreign,  by* 
actual  conquest;  and  yet  oftener  by  their  own  chiefs, 
successfully  resisting  foreign  attempts  at  conquest,  and 
thus  attaining  to  almost  absolute  power — still  government 
is  so  necessary  to  society  that  even  bad  governments  are 


^A. 


113 


long  borne  with,  for  the  preponderence  of  good  derived 
from  them,  when  compared  with  anarchy.  Even  when  a 
people  throw  off  a  government,  it  is  only  to  replace  it 
with  another,  which  they  hope  to  find  better,  but  which 
often  proves  worse. 

Political  changes  often  grow  out  of  gradual  modifica- 
tions of  the  polity  under  which  a  people  have  long  lived ; 
and  they  seldom  foresee  the  ultimate  effects  of  these 
modifications  until  too  late  to  remedy  them.  For  they 
not  seldom  lead  to  radical  revolutions,  destructive  to  pri- 
vate rights. 

While  it  must  be  admitted  that  every  government 
which  has  lasted  long  must  have  served  the  purpose  of 
protecting  a  large  part  of  the  interests  of  a  considerable 
part  of  the  nation  ;  yet  all  governments  have  been  very 
unsuccessful  when  they  assumed  the  part  of  bountiful 
benefactors  of  the  people  living  under  their  rule. 

As  we  said  before :  It  has  been  held  by  many  that  the 
State  should  adopt  as  its  principle  of  action,  "The  seek- 
ing the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number."  But  this 
plausible  motto  is  fallacious  and  sure  to  mislead.  The 
government  must  at  once  become  the  busy  and  inter- 
meddling patron  of  the  people's  private  affairs  ;  see  who 
need  assistance  and  encouragement ;  and  who  can  thrive 
without  it.  It  will  be  sure  to  find  a  numerous,  hungry, 
and  greedy  class,  clamorous  for  special  favors.  What 
the  deserving  portion  of  tlie  nation  ask  is,  simply,  se- 
curity to  their  rights.  The  chief  use  of  the  State  to 
them  is  apt  to  be  security  to  their  rights,  against  the  at- 
tacks of  others,  in  the  same  political  community. 


ml 


;  111 


1 1 


r 

i 
■ 

r 

1 
t 

III 

I    i 


n 


114 


XXXIX. 

Mankind  are  indebted  for  tlieir  pro^^ress  and  improve- 
ment to  individuals  highly  gifted  by  nature  ;  not  to  gov- 
ernments, which,  usurping  prerogatives  and  duties  for- 
eign to  their  end,  have  often,  by  ill-judged  interference 
with  Nature's  providence,  stood  in  the  way  of  man's 
progress. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  particular  cases,  in  which 
the  human  race  owe  their  advance  to  the  discoveries  and 
inventions  of  individuals.  It  is  almost  impossible  to 
over-estimate  this  source  of  the  bettering  of  man's  condi- 
tion, or  to  give  a  history  of  its  development. 

When  we  remember  tliat  primitive  man,  like  some 
savages  of  the  present  day,  could  not  count  beyond  tlie 
number  of  his  fingers ;  we  must  see  that  those  more  acute 
and  observant  minds  which  gradually  and  successively 
built  up  the  art  of  abstract  numeration,  then  those  of 
mensuration,  of  form,  and  proportion,  thus  laying  the 
foundation  of  all  exact  science ;  bestowed  a  boon  of  in- 
finite value  to  those  who  came  after  them.  To  other 
individuals  men  owe  similar  benefits,  in  their  discoveries 
and  inventions  in  various  arts ;  not  only  those  extending 
tlieir  control  over  material  Nature,  but  others,  enlarging 
their  intellectual  and  spiritual  range  of  existence  and 
enjoyment. 

The  names  and  history  of  these  early  benefactors  to 
their  race  are  utterly  lost  to  us ;  particularly  of  the  ear- 
liest, and  therefore  the  most  important,  as  being  those 
who  first  led  men  into  paths,  by  treading  which  they 
could  better  their  condition.  In  vain  we  ask,  "  Who  in- 
vented the  plow  ?"     "  Who  first  taught  men  to  keep  a 


116 


record  of  the  past  ?"  We  cannot  even  estimate  the  num- 
ber of  these,  our  early  benefactors ;  or  the  variety  and 
vahie  of  the  benefits  tliey  bequeathed  to  ns.  The 
imaginative  Greeks  deified  them,  attributing  to  tliem 
superliuman  powers. 

To  come  down  to  periods  and  persons  within  recorded 
times ;  who  can  say  how  much  tliat  intellectual  race,  the 
Greeks,  and  we  ourselves,  through  them,  owe  to  Homer 
and  Aristotle  ?  To  come  down  to  modern  times,  it  is  al- 
most as  difficult  to  estimate  how  much  Lord  l>ac()n,  or  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  has  siddcd  to  the  material  and  intellectual 
gains  and  welfare  of  those  who  liave  come  after  them. 
Perhaps  it  is  yet  harder  to  say,  how  much,  of  a  different 
character,  English-speaking  ])eo])le  have  gained  from 
Sliakespeare  and  Milton.  It  would  seem  to  admit  better 
of  calculation  and  measurement,  the  inquiring  as  to  the 
material  and  intellectual  gains  we  have  derived  through 
James  Watt,  the  first  successful  employer  of  steam  as  a 
mechanical  power,  or  through  George  Stephenson,  the 
inventor  of  the  locomotive  engine. 

But  the  simplest  of  these  in(|uiries  would  far  overtask 
the  powers  of  calculation  and  analysis  Newton  brought  to 
the  composition  of  his  PrLicipla  MdlheimxtiGa^  or  those 
La  Place  used  in  preparing  his  Meehanique  Celeste. 

It  may  be  said  that  all  these  gifted  persons,  much  as 
they  may  have  achieved,  were  simply  working  out  their 
own  object  for  their  own  profit.  If  that  were  true — but 
in  most  cases  it  would  be  false — still,  however  great  the 
results  of  their  self-seeking  labors,  so  nnicli  more  clearly 
would  it  prove  Nature's  provident  arrangements  for  the 
.  benefit  of  mankind.  Through  this  providence  of  Nature 
there  is  a  fermentation  of  ideas  in  human  society,  always 
at  work,  which,  Kke  the  yeast  kneaded  into  a  batch  of 


,■  J. 


■  m 
•  'I 


\  m 


A 


116 


dongli  for  baking,  tends  to  ligliten  and  raiflo  the  wliole 
inaBs. 


XL. 


i 


Kindly  Nature  lias  further  shown  her  provident  care  of 
man,  l)y  iniphmting  another  trait  in  his  constitutional  or- 
ganization, as  obvious,  but,  perliaps,  not  eo  important  to 
the  progress  and  iinproveiuent  of  tlie  race,  as  tliat  of  which 
we  have  last  spoken. 

Nature  has  nuide  man  a  sympathetic  being.  This 
seems  to  be,  among  animals,  somewhat  peculiar  to  man. 
For  although  we  now  and  then  see  something  like  it 
among  the  brutes,  especially  those  in  a  state  of  domesti- 
cation, its  manifestations  are  rare  and  indistinct.  Man  is 
the  only  aninud  we  can  characterize  as  constitutionally 
benevolent,  beneficent,  and  charitable. 

For  when  man's  evil  passions,  and  his  animosities,  are 
not  aroused,  he  is  a  well-wisher,  and  kindly,  to  his  fellow 
man,  and  ready  to  interest  himself  in  his  welfare  and 
success.  We  have  noted  a  marked  example  of  this  in  the 
unstinted  hospitality  expected  and  practised  among  the 
hunting  tribes  of  the  northwest  of  North  America. 
Indeed,  human  society,  in  a  semi-barbarous  state,  is  not 
often  wanting  in  hospitality.  Very  often  that  is  made 
the  special  point  of  honor,  even  up  to  improvidence  for 
themselves. 

Hospitality  is  not  only  the  earliest  and  simplest  shape, 
in  which  charity  and  beneficence  can  show  themselves ; 
but  all  the  charities  of  man  to  man  originate  in  hospital- 
ity. The  furnishing  the  destitute  with  shelter,  food,  and 
warmth,  and  opening  a  friendly  intercourse  between  those 
who  have  and  those  who  need.     For  it  is  unnatural  to 


117 


humjin  bein^fi  in  a  condition  of  ease  an<l  ;">lenty,  to  see, 
unmoved,  tlieir  fellow  creatures  destitute,  ai'i  suffering 
from  want.  Our  training  in  domestic  life,  in  reference 
to  those  dependent  on  us,  prepares  us  to  percei  'e,  and 
promptly  to  relieve,  any  case  of  painful  destitution,  when 
it  is  in  our  power  to  do  so.  Accordingly  we  find  hos- 
pitality most  freely  practised  wher»3  it  is  most  needed,  and 
least  likely  to  be  imposed  upon — in  remote  and  little  fre- 
quented places. 

We  have  not  asserted  too  much  in  saying  that  all  tlio 
charities  of  man  to  man  originate  in  hospitality.  It  is 
making  the  stranger,  for  a  time,  a  part  of  your  family, 
sharing  in  all  that  they  enjoy.  If  you  follow  out  this 
idea,  hospitality  is  often  not  limited  to  tlie  relief  of  the 
material  wants  of  the  day.  The  host,  in  taking  on  him- 
self that  part,  is  led  to  open  his  heart ;  and  will  seldom 
withhold  from  his  guest  any  information,  instruction,  or 
warning,  he  can  give,  useful  or  beneficial  to  the  stranger. 
Thus  affording  valuable  lessons  to  those  who  are  often  in 
urgent  need  of  local  and  other  intelligence. 

The  hospitable  home,  moreover,  is  often  not  merely 
the  scene  of  a  brief  hohpitality.  It  is,  not  seldom,  a  hos- 
pital for  the  relief  of  the  sick  or  the  wounded,  and  a 
school  of  instruction  affording  precious  lessons  to  those  in 
urgent  need  of  them.  In  out-of-the-way  places,  where 
hospitality  is  most  needed.  Nature  has  provided  a  stimu- 
lant to  the  exercise  of  it,  in  the  craving,  of  those  who  live 
retired  lives,  to  get  intelligence  and  hear  news  from  the 
outer  world  ;  so  that  the  host  may  thus  often  learn  much 
from  the  stranger  under  his  roof. 

We  have  said  that  one  of  the  effects  .of  society,  in 
bringing  numbers  together  in  habitual  intercourse,  is  to 
exhibit  strongly  the  contrasts  of  their  condition.     We 


4^ 

r. . 


M 


i-isM 


iH 


1 


!l 


l! 


f\-  \ 


118 


are  not  slow  to  perceive  that,  in  many  cases,  want  and 
snlferino:  are  the  result  of  accidents  and  misfortunes, 
springing  often  from  temporary  causes  ;  and  that  some 
timely  assistance  may  completely  relieve  them. 

When  we  cannot  trace  the  evils  suffered,  to  the  conduct 
and  negligence  of  xhe  sufferer,  we  are  strongly  tempted 
to  give  liim  snch  relief  as  is  in  our  power.  And  even 
when  he  is  experiencing  the  effects  of  his  own  folly  or 
vice,  we  may  assist  him  until  our  sympathy  is  overtasked, 
and  our  charity  worn  out.  We  have  to  learn  gradually 
to  disti  guish  between  unavoidable  and,  what  may  be 
called,  criminal  destitution,  arising  from  the  folly,  im- 
providence, or  indolence  of  the  sufferer. 

All  charity  is,  at  lirst,  that  of  individuals,  or  at  most, 
that  of  families;  and  it  takes  all  the  various  forms  of 
benevolence.  But  occasionally  cases  of  want  and  destitu- 
tion occur  in  society,  far  beyond  the  means  of  individuals 
to  relieve  them.  Several  charitable  persons  are  prompted 
to  divide  among  them  the  task  of  relieving  this  accumu- 
lated mass  of  suffering.  In  the  midst  of  a  dense  popula- 
tion we  soon  learn  to  recognize  the  occasional  occurrence 
of  wholesale  distress,  and  also  the  frequency  of  imposi- 
tion on  charity.  We  see  the  need  of  permanently  organ- 
izing voluntary  combinations  among  the  charitable,  in 
order  that  each  one  may  know  what  the  others  are  doing ; 
thus  adopting  method  in  our  good  works,  and  guarding 
against  systematic  imposture. 

The  combining  of  their  charities  by  individuals  gradu- 
ally led  to  the  founding  of  hospitals,  of  almshouses,  and 
very  largely  to  the  association  of  persons  of  the  same 
trade,  or  craft,  for  occasional  mutual  relief. 

Probably  the  first  hospitals  founded  were  lazar  houses 
for  the  relief  of  lepers.     In  the  Middle  Ages  a  cutaneous 


<u^ 


119 


rgan- 
e,  in 


disease,  mistaken  for  the  leprosy  of  the  Scriptures,  seems 
to  have  prevailed  early,  widely,  and  for  centuries.  Its 
disgusting,  incurable,  and  supposed  conta^ous  character, 
rendered  it  almost  impossible  to  practise  hospitality  to 
these  wretched  sufferers.  Being  excluded  from  other 
society,  these  lepers  naturally  consorted  with  each  other ; 
and,  grouped  together,  excited  the  more  commiseration. 

Yery  early  some  of  the  richer  ecclesiastical  corporations 
were  moved  to  ■  found  hospitals  or  lazar  houses  for  the 
relief  of  these  hopeless  and  helpless  outcasts  from  society; 
at  once  providing  for  their  maintenance  there,  and  con- 
fining the  supposed  source  of  contagion  to  one  spot. 

When  cliarity  had  been  thus  organized  on  a  system, 
incorporated,  as  it  were,  by  the  voluntary  combination  of 
benevolence,  the  example  soon  originated  other  hospitals 
besides  lazar  houses. 

A  history  of  charities  would  exhibit  the  expenditure  of 
a  vast  amount  of  zeal,  labor,  and  wealth,  by  a  great  num- 
ber of  people  of  every  class ;  many  of  whom  devoted  their 
lives,  and  substance,  exclusively  to  works  of  charity  in 
various  forms.  But  the  truth  of  history  compels  us  to 
say,  that  the  active  combinition  and  organization  of 
benevolence  will  be  found  to  have  chiefly  arisen  since  the 
Christian  era.  Before  that,  the  history  of  organized 
charity  is  pretty  much  a  blank  page. 

These  organized  charities  originated  chiefly  with  eccle- 
siastical corporations,  or  through  their  influence ;  and 
with  confraternities,  or  guilds  of  various  trades.  But 
many  rich  persons  founded  charities,  and  the  shapes  these 
took  were  nmcli  influenced  by  the  professions  of  the 
founders.  Churchmen  and  lawyers,  two  learned  classes, 
were  apt  to  found  schools  and  colleges,  rather  than  hospi- 
tals.    Medical  men  saw  the   value  of  hospitals  for  the 


i     'i. 


'•'1 


120 


treatment  of  disease,  and  the  advancement  of  their  own 
art.  In  time  the  tendency  showed  itself  to  appro- 
priate some  of'tliese  to  tlie  treatment  of  special  ills  that 
flesh  is  heir  to,  as  the  surgical  treatment  of  wonnds,  or 
the  medical  treatment  of  contagions  diseases. 

Rich  merchants  and  guilds  of  tradesmen  founded  alms- 
houses for  decayed  members  of  their  own  calling,  and 
schools  for  their  orplians. 

From  the  earliest  times  an  occasional  disposition  mani- 
fested itself  in  some  parents  to  abandon  their  children ; 
and  in  some  countries  infanticide  became  frequent.  Even 
in  antiquity  not  a  few  States  made  efliorts  to  jn-ovide  for 
derelict  children.  And  in  early  ages  of  Christianity  fur- 
ther efforts  were  made  to  check  the  evil.  A  stone  basin 
was  placed  at  the  door  of  some  cathedrals  and  churches  for 
the  reception  of  abandoned  infants.  And  at  length  found- 
ling hospitals  were  established  in  many  places.  But  from 
the  great  mortality  in  them,  tlieir  utility  is  yet  doubted. 
They  diminish  infanticide  indeed,  but  encourage  licen- 
tiousness and  bastardy. 

Tlie  Revolutionary  government  in  France  went  so  far 
as  to  give  a  premium  on  this  immorality  by  offering  to 
every  girl  wlio  should  declare  her  pregnancy  120  francs, 
and  declared  bastards  the  children  of  the  State — enfants 
de  la  patrie. 

We  need  not  enumerate  further  the  shapes  taken  by 
private  charity.  This  is  all  we  shall  say  in  tracing  the 
genesis  of  charitable  institutions.  They  all  derive  their 
origin  from  tlie  beneficence  of  private  persons,  beginning 
in  hospitality. 


-g£; 


nMummmimmt 


121 


XLI. 


80  far 


trancs. 


Thus,  in  spite  of  the  egotistical,  self-seeking  motives 
which  are  the  predominating  impulses  which  set  man- 
kind to  work ;  it  is  obvious  that,  in  all  human  society, 
men  do  give  no  small  part  of  their  acquisitions,  of  their 
time,  and  of  their  labor  to  hospitality,  to  charities,  and  to 
benelicent  objects  which  have  for  their  end  the  good  of 
others  rather  than  themselves.  This  can  escape  the  ob- 
servation of  no  class  of  persons,  least  of  all,  of  that  watch- 
ful class  who  fill  public  office,  and  exercise  the  powers  of 
the  State. 

This  official  and  ruling  class,  under  every  form  of 
government,  are  ever  on  the  lookout  for  ti.e  means  and 
opportunities  of  adding  to  their  own  influence ;  this  is 
what  exercises  their  utmost  watchfulness.  Their  position 
in  office  engenders  a  frame  of  mind  suggesting  that 
the  State  should  interfere  in  every  matter,  and  engross 
all  power  and  influence. 

When,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  charities  and  benefi- 
cences of  private  persons,  flowing  together,  have  created 
funds  and  institutions  for  the  relief  of  human  suffering 
and  the  instruction  of  ignorance,  the  State,  that  is,  the 
office-holders  who  wield  its  power,  see  in  these  fountains 
•of  accumulated  charity  sources  of  influence  and  power 
which  they  think  the  State,  that  is,  they  themselves,  ought 
to  appropriate.  Tliey  are  never  at  a  loss  for  plausi- 
ble reasons  for  usurping  new  prerogatives  for  the  State. 
In  almost  every  country  events  occur,  and  occasions  grow 
up,  wliicli  afford  colorable  excuses  for  these  usurpa- 
tions. 

In  the  Middles  Ages,  long  before  the  Reformation,  in 


i 


pp>««p 


i  i  i 


I 


!  1 


in 


122 


England  and  elsewhere,  the  Church,  charging  itself  with 
tlie  care  of  the  poor,  made  tJiat  one  cliief  ground  for 
getting  into  its  liands  as  much  property,  of  all  kinds*  as 
possible.  The  parish  priests  and  the  monastic  clergy, 
differing  much  on  other  points,  united  in  working  on  the 
superstitious  fears  of  the  sick  and  the  dying ;  and  the 
bishops  usurped  jurisdiction  over  the  probate  of  men's 
wills,  and  over  the  distribution  of  the  personal  property 
of  intestates. 

This  grasping  policy,  in  time,  vastly  swelled  the  wealth 
of  the  Church.  That  was  constantly  growing.  It  not  only 
enabled  it  to  feed  vast  numbers  of  the  poor,  to  support 
many  hospitals,  the  utmost  splendor  in  public  worship, 
and  in  the  retinues  of  great  prelates ;  but  to  practise  a 
politic  hospitality  to  people  of  rank  on  their  journeys ; 
for  the  episcopal  palaces,  monasteries,  and  priories  spread 
over  the  country,  were  not  only  more  numerous  and 
better  furnished,  but  far  safer  than  the  inns  in  those 
troubled  ages.  All  this  swelled  the  influence  of  the 
Churcli,  which  w^s  constantly  acquiring  additional 
wealth,  and  more  numerous  and  larger  landed  proper- 
ties. 

As  all  this  territorial  property  came  into  the  hands  of 
corporations  which,  unlike  individuals,  never  die ;  and 
churchmen  held  and  taught  the  doctrine  that  it  was  a  sin 
for  them  to  alienate  what  had  been  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  God  and  his  saints  ;  it  became  obvious  that  if 
this  process  of  acquisition  continued  long,  the  Church 
would  become  the  sole  proprietor  in,  and  of  the  country. 

In  addition  to  these  acquisitions,  the  Church,  in  Eng- 
land, made  some  long  steps  toward  assuming  legal  juris- 
diction, both  in  civil  and  criminal  cases ;  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  urge  the  setting  aside  of  the  common  law  of 


123 


the  kingdom  in  many  matters,  and  substituting  for  it  the 
canon  law,  borrowed  hirgelj  from  the  Iloman  civil  law. 

But  here  the  clergy  found  that,  in  their  usurping 
mood,  they  liad  overstepped  the  bounds  of  prudence  ;  the. 
peremptory  answer  of  the  Barons  in  Parliament  was: 
Nolumus  leges  Anglim  mutare:  A  blunt  refusal  to 
change  the  customary  laws  of  the  kingdom,  including 
trial  by  jury,  and  viva  voce  testimony  in  open  court, 
for  a  foreign  code  patronized  by  the  Church  and  the 
Papal  power. 

This  condition  of  aifairs  in  England  led  to  the  enacting 
of  the  statutes  of  Mortmain^  prohibiting  the  alienation 
of  land  for  charitable  uses  by  will,  or  by  deed  not  made 
a  year  before  the  death  of  the  owner ;  in  order  to  prevent 
priests  and  others  from  importuning  a  dying  man  to  con- 
vey his  land  to  such  uses  for  the  good  of  his  soul.  It 
led  also  to  other  legislation  against  the  encroachments  of 
the  Church  and  the  Papal  power. 

These  MoHwahi  laws  were  especially  needed  then  and 
there ;  but  they  are  useful  at  all  times,  and  in  all  coun- 
tries ;  for  it  is  natural  and  riglit  that  the  bulk  of  property 
of  all  kinds  should  be  in  private  hands,  for  it  was  all  cre- 
ated by  the  industry  of  individuals  for  their  own  use. 
At  that  time,  moreover,  in  England,  the  vast  and  grow- 
ing wealth  of  tlie  Church  was  under  the  influence,  if  not 
the  control,  of  a  foreign  and  (at  times)  even  a  hostile 
power,  the  Papacy. 

At  a  later  day,  after  the  Reformation,  the  peculiar  state 
of  the'  times,  both  as  to  religion  and  politics,  gave  the 
English  Government  a  most  plausible  excuse  for  usurp- 
ing the  patronage  and  control  of  charities  of  all  kinds. 
In  the  case  of  endowed  charities,  indeed,  one  of  the  two 
great  duties  of  the  State,  the  administration  of  justice, 


i   n 


\  , 


!  1 


124 


Uiti  ;":■ 


imposed  upon  it  the  obligation  to  see  that  the  endow- 
ments were  not  perverted  from  the  design  of  the  donoi", 
and  misapplied  by  those  into  whose  hands  they  had 
.fallen.  In  time,  doubtless,  many  of  these  endowed  char- 
ities were  grossly  mismanaged,  and  became  liable  to  great 
abuses  and  frauds.  To  the  State,  therefore,  the  inspection 
of  them,  but  not  the  patronage,  properly  fell,  in  admin- 
istering justice. 

In  England,  before  the  Reformation,  the  wealth  and 
abuses  of  the  Church  had  brought  into  existence  a  vast 
pauper  population,  and  fostered  their  idleness  and  va- 
grancy. It  had  no  means  of  subsistence  but  the  ill-judged 
doles  of  the  churches  and  monastic  houses,  and  the 
private  alms  which  the  Church  exhorted  the  faithful  to 
give  to  these  beggars :  "All  that  is  given  to  them,"  said 
the  Church,  ' '  is  but  returning  to  God  some  part  of  the 
abundance  with  which  He  has  blessed  the  giver."  But, 
usually,  the  clergy  preferred  being  themselves  the  al- 
moners, or  the  channels  through  which  these  fountain- 
streams  of  charity  shuuld  flow.  If  the  channel  itself  was 
dry,  it  naturally  absorbed  much  from  this  stream  of 
benevolence. 

After  the  Reformation,  England  found  itself  overrun 
with  sturdy  and  lawless  beggars,  who  formerly  drew 
their  maintenance  from  the  indiscriminate  charity  of  the 
monasteries  and  convents,  now  dissolved.  They  had 
been  trained  up  to  a  life  of  vagrancy  and  indolence. 
Here  was  a  new  evil,  a  nuisance  spread  over  the  face  of 
the  whole  country,  with  which  the  State  had  to  deal.  It 
did  not  deal  with  it  wisely,  certainly  not  successfully. 

As  a  remedy  for  this  evil,  Parliament,  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  entered  on  that  series  of  enactments 
which  gradually  grew  up  into  that  portentous  code,  the 


125 


a 


English  Poor  Laws,"  a  vast  mass  of  unwise  legislation 
of  wliicli  we  are  not  likely  to  see  tlie  end.  The  poor 
laws,  witli  the  decisions  under  them,  would  fill  a  large  part 
of  a  law  library.  In  this  legislation  the  State  steps  in, 
and  undertakes  to  administer  all  the  charity  for  the  relief 
of  pauperism ;  and  at  length  went  so  far  as  to  make  it 
criminal,  under  most  circumstances,  to  ask  relief  from 
private  persons. 

What  is  charity  in  its  restricted,  vernacular  sense,  of 
relieving  the  wants  of  the  needy  ?  An  essential  element 
of  charity  is  depriving  yourself  of  something  of  your 
own,  useful  to  you,  in  order  to  relieve  the  wants  of  an- 
other. Charity  includes  self-denial.  In  tliis  sense  the 
State  cannot  practise  charity.  For  the  State,  not  earning 
or  producing  anything,  has  no  fund  out  of  which  it  can, 
by  practising  self-denial,  meet  the  demands  of  charity. 
The  State  can  no  more  practise  charity  than  I  can,  out  of 
the  purse  intrusted  to  me  for  safe  keeping,  by  another 
man.  The  most  that  the  State  and  I,  in  this  case,  can  do, 
is  to  practise  the  charity  of  Robin  Hood,  take  from  the 
rich  to  give  to  the  poor. 

Private  charity,  in  fact,  has  a  great  fund  at  its  disposal, 
and  often  draws  on  it  freely.  But  this  fund,  if  skillfully 
usurped  by  the  State  and  artfully  used,  can  be  turned 
into  political  power.  Those  who  represent  the  State 
step  in,  and  turn  this  stream  into  channels  of  their  own 
choosing.  They  assume  the  duty  and  the  power  to  regu- 
late all  the  spontaneous  benevolence  of  individuals.  It 
can  be  turned  into  political  power,  and  therefore  belongs 
to  the  State.  By  simply  converting  what  is  naturally 
private  charity  into  a  tax  and  a  burden,  to  maintain  a 
system  of  relief  by  the  State,  they  teach  the  beneficiaries 
to  claim  it  as  a  right,  with  thanks  due  to  no  one — as  if 


,ii 


■V 


r' 


:  li 


!    I 


'        ■llr 


t    ij 


nil  1 


126 


they  had  naturally  a  legal  claim  on  the  products  of  other 
nrien's  labors  and  savings.  It  tends  to  make  all  the  needy 
and  unfortunate  no  better  than  restless  and  vagrant 
tramps,  the  pests  of  all  well-ordered  society. 

Naturally,  a  member  of  a  political  community  has  no 
claim  of  right  to  require  the  State  to  provide  for  his 
wants.  This  is  not  one  of  tlie  purposes  for  which  the 
State  came  into  existence.  The  business  of  the  State  is 
to  protect  him  in  the  exercise  of  his  natural  rights,  and 
in  the  enjoyment  of  the  results  of  his  exertions.  Rightly 
understood,  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  State  charity. 
The  making  it  a  public  burden,  the  support  of  it  obliga- 
tory on  individuals,  in  the  shape  of  taxation,  utterly 
changes  its  nature.  It  is  charity  no  longer.  As  well 
might  the  law  decree  tliat  hospitality  to  strangers,  which 
is  the  root  of  all  charity,  should  be  obligatory  on  all 
householders.  It  would  be  hospitality  no  longer;  but 
like  the  billeting  of  soldiers  on  the  people  of  a  region 
under  military  occupation. 


XLII. 

If  any  one  thinks  it  easy  or  practicable  for  the  State 
to  fill  the  part  of  almoner,  in  dispensing  the  charities  and 
benevolences  of  private  persons — (all  charities  must  draw 
their  supplies  from  private  sources,  for  the  State  neither 
earns  nor  produces) — let  him  study  the  history  of  the 
"  English  Poor  Laws  "  for  the  last  three  centuries,  and 
learn  the  result  of  that  vast  body  of  fluctuating  and  ex- 
perimental legislation.  For  England  has  dealt  more 
largely  and  systematically  with  this  matter,  the  relief  of 
pauperism,  than  any  other  country. 


127 


The  result  of  this  State  chanty  is  a  long  and  painful 
tissue  of  failures,  most  plainly  visible  toward  the  end  of 
the  last  century  and  the  beginning  of  this. 

The  system  had  been  most  successful  on  the  very 
point  not  aimed  at,  the  breeding  of  paupers.  For  it  had 
turned  the  poor  laws  into  a  mode  of  paying  wages  ;  and 
of  beating  down  wages  to  the  lowest  point  that  could 
sustain  life.  Most  farm  laborers  received  much  of  their 
wages  from  the  poor  rates,  being  hired  out  to  the  farmers 
by  the  poor-law  commissioners.  Pauper  labor  had  dis- 
placed that  of  independent  workmen.  The  independ- 
ence, integrity,  industry,  and  domestic  virtues  of  the 
laboring  classes,  in  some  places,  were  nearly  extinct.  In 
some  parishes  the  poor  rates,  assessed  on  property,  ex- 
ceeded the  whole  annual  rental,  and  no  tenant  would  hold 
it,  even  rent  free.  Proprietors  saved  money  by  throwing 
their  lields  out  of  cultivation,  thus  escaping  the  payment 
of  the  poor  rates. 

In  1820,  when  England  had  but  half  its  present  popu- 
lation, and  not  one-fourth  of  its  present  wealth,  the  poor 
rates  had  risen  to  £7,300,000.  The  poor  were  paid  for 
their  necessities,  not  for  their  industry,  and  were  tempted 
to  increase  tlie  former,  and  neglect  the  latter.  The 
pauper  laborer  received  more  relief  if  he  took  a  pauper 
wife — and  still  more  for  every  pauper  child.  Paupers 
married  at  seventeen  or  eighteen,  and  claimed  the  allow- 
ance the  day  after  marriage.  The  poor  laws  thus  gave  a 
most  unnatural  and  ruinous  stimulant  to  a  population, 
which  already  could  not  find  work  or  wages.  Relief 
from  the  poor  rates  was,  practically,  a  bounty  on  indo- 
lence ahd  vice,  most  injurious  to  the  independent  laborer, 
tending  to  bring  him  down  to  the  pauper  level. 

A  laborer  could  hardly  get  work  out  of  his  own  parish. 


)'i 


n 


t   t"rS 


! 


^!  i 


y  i'!l 


128 


for  fear  he  might  gain  a  settlement  in  another,  and 
become  chargeable  to  it  as  a  pauper.  The  courts  of  law 
were  full  of  suits  between  parishes,  as  to  their  liability  to 
relieve  the  vagrant  pauper — ^who  was  tossed  about  like  a 
shuttlecock  from  one  parish  to  another,  each  seeking  to 
relieve  itself  of  the  burden.  The  laboring  poor,  thus  re- 
stricted of  their  natrral  liberty  of  seeking  afield  for  their 
industry,  had  almost  returned  to  the  state  of  villanage, 
like  the  serfs,  the  adscrijpti  glehoB  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  effect  of  this  State  charity  was  hardly  less  injuri- 
ous to  the  benevolent  impulses  of  those  who  had  the 
means  of  relieving  suffering  and  want.  Burdened  already 
with  heavy  assessments  for  the  maintenance  of  the  poor, 
over  which  taxation  they  had  no  control,  either  as  to  its 
amount  or  its  application,  they  wern  naturally  tempted  to 
say  to  the  needy  and  ailing,  "  The  almshouse  and  the  hospi- 
tal are  there  open  to  you  ;  I  am  compelled  to  pay  highly  to 
support  them.  Go  there  for  relief!"  The  poor  laws 
discouraged  all  private  voluntary  charity ;  even  made  it 
an  offense  in  many  cases  to  ask  for  relief.  They  engen- 
dered feelings  of  hostility  and  animosity  in  tlie  breasts  of 
the  paupers,  against  those  wlio  were  compelled  by  law  to 
maintain  them. 

Should  the  reader  wish  to  master  fully  the  effects  of 
the  "English  Poor  Laws,"  we  would  recommend  to  him 
Maltlius's  acute  and  thorough  book  on  the  "  Principles  of 
Population,"  a  work  much  vilified  by  many  who  misun- 
derstood or  misconstrued  its  wise  lessons. 

In  that  part  in  which  he  treats  specially  of  pauperism, 
Malthus  has  shown  plainly — 

"  1.  That  although  these  laws  may  have  alleviated  in- 
dividual misfortune,  yet  they  have  spread  the  evil  over  a 
larger  surface. 


129 


irisra, 


"  2.  That  no  possible  sacrifices  of  the  ricli  could,  for 
any  time,  prevent  the  recurrence  of  distress  among  the 
lower  classes. 

"  3.  Tliat  all  systems  of  tliis  kind  tend  to  create  more 
paupers. 

"  4.  That  the  poor  laws  subject  the  whole  class  of  the 
common  people  (laborers)  to  a  set  of  tyraimical  laws. 

"  6.  Tiiat  if  these  laws  had  never  been  enacted,  the 
mass  of  happiness  among  the  laboring  class  would  liave 
been  greater  than  it  is." 

Tiie  Hev.  Dr.  Tlios.  Chalmers,  the  greatest  light  of  the 
Kirk  in  this  century,  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  of  his 
great  powers,  to  investigating  the  question  of  pau2)erism. 
He  was  most  anxious  to  save  his  own  country,  Scotland, 
from  the  curse  and  the  blight  of  the  English  mode  of 
dealing  with  it.  In  his  essay  on  "  Scotch  and  English 
Pauperism,"  he  says — "  We  will  confess  that  we  have  long 
thouglit  that,  in  the  zaal  of  regidating  against  the  nuisance 
of  public  begging,  some  of  tlie  clearest  principles,  ])oth  of 
Nature  and  of  Christianity,  have  been  violated." — "As  dis- 
ciples of  the  New  Testament,  we  cannot  but  think  that,  if 
told  by  our  Saviour  to  give  to  him  that  asketh — tliere 
must  be  something  radically  wrong  in  an  attempt,  on  our 
part,  to  extinguish  that  very  condition,  on  which  he  hath 
made  the  duty  of  giving  to  dejDend."  Again  he  says — 
"  We  can  venture  to  affirm,  and  to  the  infinite  lienor  of 
the  lower  orders  of  society,  that  all  which  the  rich  gwe 
to  the  poor  in  private  henevolence,  is  hut  a  unite  and  a 
trifle  when  compared  with  what  the  poor  give  to  one 
another  P 

In  his  esbay  on  the  "  Extension  of  the  Church  and  the 
Extinction  of  Pauperism,"  he  says — "The  right  manage- 
ment of  poverty  {pauperism)  is  truly  the  darkest  and 


\  t. 


1  \t 

V  1 


•J       S; 


I 


m 


it  — 


0 


I'M 


>!    : 


I    ! 


i   I 


130 


most  unsolvable  of  all  problems." — *' No  power  of  in- 
qiiifiition  can  protect  a  public  cbarity  from  unfair  de- 
mands upon  it ;  and  demands,  too,  of  such  weipjlit  and 
plausibility  as  must  be  acceded  to,  and  bave  tlie  effect  of 
wasting  a  large  and  ever-increasing  proportion  of  tlie  fund, 
on  those  wlio  are  not  tlie  rightful  and  legitimate  objects 
of  it."  After  urging  his  plans  for  elevating  the  tone 
and  character  of  the  people  by  moral  and  religious 
training,  he  says — "  Should  this  fail,  we  must  prepare  our 
minds  for  a  conclusion,  far  more  treniendous  than  the 
continuance  of  pauperism,  with  all  its  corruptions  and 
miseries." — "Should  it  be  found  that  it  owes  all  its 
inveteracy  to  a  great  moral  impotency  onthe  part  of  man- 
kind, from  which  no  expedient,  within  the  whole  compass 
of  natural  or  revealed  knowledge,  is  able  to  deliver 
them !" 

Perhaps  the  worst  effect  of  the  relief  of  pauperism  by 
the  State  is,  tliat  it  tends  strongly  to  make  pauperism 
hereditary.  The  children  and  the  grandchildren  of 
paupers  grow  up  with  sentiments,  and  under  impressions, 
which  prevent  any  persistent  effort  to  raise  themselves 
above  the  condition  of  a  pauper  race.  Like  long-impris- 
oned captives,  they  are  depressed  "  Till  bondage  sinks 
their  souls  to  their  condition  !" 

Poor  laws  are  not  exactly  the  invention  of  modern 
times,  or  even  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Athenians  had 
their  poor  laws,  in  perhaps  the  worst  possible  form.  The 
paupers  not  only  had  a  voice  in  appointing  the  amount  of 
relief,  but  it  was  partly  drawn  from  the  treasury  of  the 
allies  of  xithens,  of  which  Athens  was  the  keeper.  Relief 
was  so  distributed  as  to  offer  workmen  the  strongest  in- 
ducement to  neglect  their  private  business,  in  order  to 
atteud  the  public  assemblies,  and  their  monstrous  courts, 


a" 


IHl 


witli  five  or  six  huiulrud  citizens,  as  jurors,  where  every 
man  was  paid. 

Tlie  Roman  poor  laws  took  another  form,  perhaps  quite 
as  objectionable — and,  it  may  be,  more  costly  to  the  tribu- 
tary ])rovin(!es.  By  the  Legen  FrHnientaria^  for  centuries 
corn  was  issued  gratis  to  the  poor  citizens.  This  bred 
up  a  crowd  of  paupers  with  political  influence  in  the 
State.  For  tlie  ^reat  body  of  the  real  laboritig  class,  the 
slaves,  derived  no  relief  from  these  poor  laws,  either  at 
Athens  or  Rome.  In  the  time  of  Augustus  Cffisar,  two 
hundred  tiiousand  citizens  were  fed  as  paupers,  in  the 
city  of  Rome. 

In  the  time  of  the  Byzantine  empire,  the  mass  of  the 
people  of  Constantinople  recognized  as  the  chief  duty  of 
the  State,  the  providing  the  mob  with  bread  and  public 
diversions.     Panem  et  Circences. 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  Church  of  Rome  was  at 
the  height  of  its  prosperity — it  assiduously  and  politicly 
practised,  as  among  its  chief  duties,  the  feeding  of  the 
the  poor,  and  hospitality  to  the  rich.  For  tliese  afford- 
ed the  best  plea  and  the  greatest  facilities  for  its  grasp- 
ing acquisition  of  land,  and  of  all  kinds  of  wealt)i. 

The  French  Government,  in  the  last  century,  and  this, 
has  often  imitated  that  of  Rome.  When  the  mob  of 
Paris  grew  clamorous  at  the  high  price  of  bread,  the  au- 
thorities, at  times,  compelled  the  bakers  to  sell  bread 
below  cost,  reimbursing  them  for  their  losses,  at  the  cost 
of  the  rest  of  France.  They  did  not  fear  the  mobs  of 
the  smaller  cities,  or  of  the  country  at  large.  Half  loaves 
must  do  for  them. 

Hospitals  and  pensions,  furnished  by  the  State,  for 
soldiers  and  seamen,  are  not  charities.  They  are  in  part 
payment  of  debt,  for  service  done. 


I 


132 


XLIII. 


We  have  already  dwelt  somewhat  on  the  provision 
Nature  has  made  for  the  spontaneous  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  arts  throughout  society. 

It  is  obvious  that  it  is  just  as  natural  and  obligatory  on 
parents  to  teach  and  train  their  children ;  as  to  feed, 
clothe,  and  slielter  them.  Religious  people  (and  as  they 
form  no  small  part  of  most  communities,  and  have  rights 
and  duties,  like  ourselves,  we  are  bound  to  consider  them, 
however  completely  we  may  be  witliout  God  in  the 
world) — all  these  will  agree  that  the  education  and  train- 
ing of  their  children  are  duties  imposed  upon  tliem  by 
their  Creator,  and  lights  given  exclusively  to  them.  And 
we  know  that  this  conviction  has,  practically,  operated 
so  actively  on  parents,  even  those  who  make  little  profes- 
sion of  devotion,  and  even  in  semi-barbarous  regions; 
that  parents  either  taught  their  children  their  own  arts, 
or,  perhaps,  more  often  induced  some  other  persons  to 
undertake  their  instruction  in  theirs.  From  this  custom 
sprung  up  tlie  universally  known  sj^stem  of  apprentice-, 
ship,  from  the  French  verb,  ajyprendre,  to  learn  or 
teach. 

This  system  of  apprenticeship  to  numberless  trades 
and  profcr- ■  ions  was  really  suggested  by  Natare ;  and  has, 
from  the  remotest  times,  done  more  for  the  education  of 
mankind,  and  for  the  formation  of  character,  than  any 
other  system  of  teaching  can  possibly  do.  For  most 
parents,  having  freedom  of  choice,  as  to  whom  they  will 
intrust  with  the  teaching  and  training  of  their  children, 
exerc3ise  this  right  and  duty  with  no  little  anxiety  and 
caution. 


133 


Apprenticesliip  is  by  no  means  limited  to  handicraft 
trades.  It  lias  been  found  that  most  of  the  highest 
brancbes  of  professional  knowledge  and  skill  are  best 
acquired  in  apprenticeship.  The:  ?  does  not  appear  to  be 
any  limit  to  its  application.  Lord  Chancellors  have 
begun  their  careers  at  the  law,  as  copyists  to  meml)er8  of 
the  legal  profession.  Men  of  the  highest  scientific 
attainments,  as  Agassiz,  often  find  it  convenient  to  have 
one  or  more  handy  and  intelligent  youths  about  them, 
while  making  their  collections,  experiments,  and  re- 
searches. It  is  now  the  better  opinion  that  the  most 
learned  and  scientific  professions  and  pursuits,  as  law, 
medicine,  civil  engineering,  chemistry,  natural  history, 
etc.,  are  Vest  taught  to  apprentices. 

From  tlie  first  dawn  of  letters  and  science,  a  class  of 
men  have  appeared  among  every  intellectual  people, 
eager  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  and,  many  of 
them,  not  less  eager  to  communicate  their  knowledge  to 
others.  These  have  been  the  successful  teachers  of  man- 
kind. 

An  utterly  unrestricted  method  of  teaching,  varying 
with  the  character,  views,  and  objects  of  those  who 
undertook  to  teach ;  from  that  of  the  pedagogue,  who 
would  never  let  his  pupil  look  off  of  his  book,  to  observe 
anytliing  beyond  its  pages,  to  that  of  Pestalozzi,  who 
sought  to  make  his  pupils  familiar  with  things  in  the 
concrete,  by  object  lessons,  leaving  abstract  ideas  to 
come  later  (a  theory  long  before  advocated  by  Milton) ; 
or  that  of  the  tutor,  who  took  his  pupils  to  travel,  to 
show  them  the  busy  and  various  world,  and  master  living 
tongues — all  these  have  their  merits ;  and  they  afford 
opportunities  of  comparing  and  contrasting  the  results  of 
different  systems.     And  doubtlcos  the  best  systems  now 


i"  u. 


!  i 


l«i 


I'll  __ 


134 


in  vogue  are  the  result  of  this  perfect  freedom  in  the  pro- 
fession of  teaching.  Out  of  these  contrarieties  may  be 
eUcited  the  best  modes  of  instruction.  'No  one  method 
is  the  best.  Much  depends  on  the  character  and  idiosyn- 
crasy of  the  pupil  to  be  taught.  Nature  has  given  the 
right,  and  imposed  the  duty,  on  parents  and  guardians ; 
and  the  responsibility  of  choosing  the  method  of  educa- 
tion lies  with  them  alone. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  people  of  Attica  were  the  most 
intellectual  branch  of  the  most  intellectual  race  of 
antiquity,  the  Greeks.  Who  was  it  that,  discarding  mere 
speculative  inquiries  into  Nature's  mysteries,  first  effect- 
ually taught  the  Athenians  to  look  into  their  own  minds, 
and  search  there  for  reasonable  convictions  as  to  human 
character  and  principles  of  conduct,  in  private  and  public 
affairs  of  daily  occurrence  ?  Who  taught  men  their  real 
ignorance  in  matters  which  they  thought  they  under- 
stood, by  leading  them  to  define  correctly  that  which  they 
aimed  at ;  and  furnished  them  with  a  logical  method  of 
making  a  sure  and  real  intellectual  progress?  It  was 
Socrates ! 

His  method  of  instruction  was  apparently  the  most 
immethodical ;  consisting  of  question  and  answer  in 
ordinary  casual  conversation.  But,  in  reality,  it  was 
perfect  for  its  purpose  ;  to  teach  men  their  own  ignorance 
and  want  of  logic.  Without  any  motive  of  personal 
ambition,  or  of  gain — for  he  did  not  seek  office,  and 
refused  all  fees  from  his  pupils — he  devoted  a  long  life, 
most  industriously,  but  unostentatiously,  to  opening  the 
minds  of  the  young  Athenians  of  all  classes,  to  the  true 
paths  of  intellectual  and  moral  progress. 

When  he  was  about  seventy  years  old,  the  corrupt 
Athenian  democracy,  on   the  false  plea  that  he  brought 


135 


the  religion  of  the  State  into  discredit,  and  perverted  the 
youth  of  Athens  by  his  teaching,  put  him  to  death,  con- 
demning him  to  take  poison ;  which  lie  swallowed  with 
as  much  philosophic  composure  as  he  had  lived.  It  is 
irn.possible  to  say  how  much  Plato,  Xenophon,  and  the 
many  others  of  Socrates's  world-renowned  pupils,  in- 
cluding Aristotle  in  the  next  generation,  owed  to  his 
training  in  the  art  of  using  their  minds.  And  these 
were  the  great  teachers  of  future  ages,  and  of  other 
countries,  far  beyond  Greece,  in  her  best  days. 

From  the  time  of  Socrates  to  this  day,  so  many  men  of 
more  than  ordinary  abilities  and  attainments  have  zeal- 
ously given  their  lives,  in  many  cases,  from  purely  disin- 
terested motives,  to  the  instruction  of  the  ignorant,  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  name  them,  or  even  to  estimate 
their  number. 

There  has  been  no  civilized  country,  in  either  ancient 
or  modern  times,  but  especially  since  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era,  which  could  not  furnish  a  long  list  of 
these  independent  and  voluntary  teachers ;  who  have 
spent  their  lives  battling  against  ignorance,  yet  often 
frowned  upon,  and  persecuted  by  the  government  and 
the  people  of  their  own  time  and  country.  Nearly  all 
we  know  we  owe  to  these  men.  The  very  variety  of 
their  mental  traits,  and  of  their  views,  secured  great  free- 
dom of  inquiry  into  men's  possible  attainments,  and  full 
opportunities  of  comparing  the  various  modes  of  teach- 
ing, auB  of  developing  tlie  mental  powers  in  the  pursuit 
of  every  branch  of  knowledge  and  skill. 

The  persons,  who  have  sliown  the  most  sclf-sucrificing 
zeal  in  organizing  and  maintaining  the  means  of  educa- 
tion, have  almost  always  been  among  the  most  devout  and 
pious  in  the  community.     They  devoted  their  learning, 


'.  I, 


/ 


136 


their  labor,  and  their  money,  to  promote  the  instruction  of 
the  young  and  the  ignorant.  These  are  the  people  who 
founded  schools  and  colleges. 

But  all  governments  have  naturally  a  violent  tendency 
to  usurp  control  over  matters  foreign  to  their  jurisdic- 
tion. Great  powers  are,  indeed,  needed  to  enable  the 
State  to  protect  effectually  the  rights  of  individuals. 
But  these  powers,  having  no  personality,  cannot  exercise 
themselves;  but  must  be  exercised  by  individual  men. 
There  at  once  springs  up  a  keen  and  fierce  struggle  be- 
tween individuals,  to  act  for  the  State,  and  exercise  some 
of  its  functions.  The  chief  labor  of  those  who  get  into 
office,  is  to  keep  themselves  in  place.  And  they  look 
around,  in  every  direction,  to. win  supporters,  and  swell 
their  patronage  and  power.  The  more  varied  the  duties 
assumed  by  the  government,  the  larger  the  revenue  to  be 
expended,  the  more  support  can  those  in  office  purchase, 
to  sustain  them  there. 

When  they  see  the  copious  streams  of  benevolent  char- 
ity flowing  from  thousands  of  private  fountains ;  they  rec- 
ognize them  as  a  great  power,  which,  in  the  hands  of  the 
State,  could  be  applied  to  manifold  uses — and  influences, 
for  political  purposes — and  they  at  once  set  to  work  to 
guide  these  streams  into  channels  of  their  own  choosing. 

From  their  training  :<!  politicians  they  have  learned  to 
look  u})on  every  enterprise,  at  least  all  expenditure  for 
the  benefit  of  the  community,  or  any  considerable  part  of 
it,  and  any  influence  accruing  therefrom — as  properly 
belonging  to  the  State ;  and  think  that  it  ought  to  be 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  its  officials.  They,  representing 
tfie  State,  greedily  grasp  at  it,  and  appropriate  it  to  their 
own  purposes.  It  will  at  least  enlarge  their  patronage, 
by  placing  some  offices  in  their  gift.  '% 


For  the  supervision  and  management  of  a  cliarity,  of 
any  kind,  mny  afford  a  partisan  a  living,  and  something 
more  tlian  a  living.  Gil  Bias's  sanctimonious  friend, 
Senor  Manuel  Ordonnez,  who  had  grown  rich  by  taking 
care  of  the  funds  of  the  poor,  is  not  a  unique,  or  even  a 
rare  character.  An  adroit  statesman,  by  getting  all  pos- 
sible posts  into  liis  gift,  can  convert  a  multitude  of  men 
of  every  variety  of  capacities,  into  zealous  and  active  par- 
tisans. Tlie  finding  plausible  excuses  for  multiplying 
oiRces  in  the  gift  of  the  State,  serves  a  great  purpose  with 
the  average  statesman. 

This  propensity  has  shown  itself  of  late  years,  in  many 
countries.  Whole  professions  and  classes,  employed  as 
administrators  of  charities,  agents  for  the  enforcement  of 
complicated  sanitary  regulations,  a  multitude  of  teachers 
in  State  schools,  being  gradually  drawn  into  the  ranks  of 
the  paid  agents  of  the  State — on  ingenious  and  plausible 
grounds — vastly  swelling  the  patronage  of  rulers.  "  The 
cry  is,  '  Still  they  come !' " 


^l» 


1 


XLIY. 


We  must  not  pass  over  so  cursorily  that  monstrous  and 
growing  usurpation,  the  claim  that  it  is  the  right  of  the 
State  to  control  education.  This  is  perhaps  the  grossest 
usurpation  that  threatens  true  liberty. 

If  the  State  has  a  right  to  control  the  education  of  the 
young,  and  have  them  taught  what  the  State  deems  it 
necessary  that  they  should  know,  then  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic State  has  this  riglit ;  a  State  in  which  the  Greek 
Church  is  by  law  established  has  it.  So  of  a  Mohamme- 
dan State — and  a  Buddhist  State  also — any  State,  indeed, 


r 


138 


» 


?!  ' 


with  a  religion  established  by  law;  and  equally,  any 
State  which,  like  that  of  France,  in  1792.  proclaims  that 
there  is  neither  God  nor  Devil — neither  heaven  nor  hell 
— no  hereafter.  Even  now,  France  approaches  to  these 
dogmas. 

All  thoughtful  and  pious  parents  recognize  it  as  a  God- 
given  right,  and  a  God -imposed  duty,  to  provide  for  the 
training  of  their  children  according  to  their  own  lights 
iv '  "•jnvictions — and  that  the  mere  intellectual,  cannot 
be  saiely  sei3arated  from  the  moral  and  religious  traiming 
of  the  young.  It  is  more  especially  the  duty  of  every 
body  of  believers  organized  for  worship,  to  charge  itself, 
tb'  •  ,.  ■  ill  influence  with  parents,  with  providing  schools 
for  tlij'^  ' '"'dren.  Nothing  short  of  gross  immorality, 
or  cnminah'^  y  n  the  parents, 'or  abandonment  of  their  oil- 
sprin;:  -ai  jii.-  '  'he  State  in  usurping,  from  the  parent, 
this  sacrea  rigl.i;  j  i  ^  ;hen,  not  on  the  ground  of  control 
over  education,  but  only  the  right  to  guard  against  nuis- 
ances. 

The  question  as  to  State  education  is  a  living  issue,  sur- 
rounding, pressing  upon  us.  It  is  a  vital  attack  on  true 
liberty.  Shall  the  State  usurp  the  right  of  thinking  for 
private  persons,  on  a  matter  that  concerns  their  domestic 
life  and  duties  ?  It  has  already  destroyed  most  of  the  pri- 
vate schools,  even  those  of  the  best  class.  It  aims  at  root- 
ing them  out  utterly. 

Here,  in  Ontario,  the  largest  province  in  Canada,  there 
are  what  are  called  "separate  schools."  That  is,  the 
Konian  Catholics  claimed,  and,  not  without  much  opposi- 
tion, their  claim  was  admitted,  that  if  they  were  to  be 
taxed  for  the  support  of  public  schools,  what  they  paid 
should  not  go  to  the  maintenance  of  these  schools,  but  to 
the  support  of  Iloman  Catholic  schools  for  their  children, 


139 


without  their  nmning  the  risk,  or  rather,  the  certainty, 
of  their  money  being  perverted  to  uses  hostile  to  their 
faitii. 

But  there  are  a  class  of  people,  we  know  not  how  nu- 
merous, urging  the  abolition  of  these  "  separate  schools," 
as  distinguished  from  the  common  schools  of  the  country. 
And  not  a  few  of  these  people  would  make  it  compulsory 
on  parents,  not  only  to  pay  for  the  support  of  these  com- 
mon schools,  but  to  send  their  children  there.  This  is 
the  direct  tendency  of  the  claim  of  the  State  to  control 
education. 

I  feel  myself  to  be  not  uniit  to  discuss  this  matter  im- 
partially, inasmuch  as  I  am  not  a  Roman  Catholic,  and 
am,  perhaps,  as  well  informed  as  to  the  aberrations  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  from  pure  and  unadulterated  Christian 
doctrine,  as  any  of  these  partisan,  or  fanatic,  or  latitudi- 
narian  adherents  of  the  flexible  Christianity  in  vogue  at 
this  day ;  and  far  better  than  any  of  the  unbelievers  and 
agnostics  who  profess  to  feel  an  intense  interest  in  the 
education  of  the  youth  of  the  country;  and  many  of 
whom  thrust  themselves,  or  seek  to  thrust  themselves, 
into  oflBce,  as  inspectors  of  the  public  schools. 

1  believe  the  Church  of  Rome  to  be  a  Christian,  but, 
on  not  a  few  points,  an  erring  Church.  But  it  has  not 
erred  so  widely  as  some  Christian  sects  which  seem  to 
have  condensed  their  theology  into  one  great,  compact 
dogma — "  The  further  from  Rome,  the  nearer  to  trutli 
and  to  God !" 

On  one  point  it  has  not  erred,  like  many  of  these  self- 
styled  Protestants,  but  has  wisely  refused  to  intrust  the 
teaching  of  its  children  to  any  one  not  selected  or  approved 
of  by  itself.  It  fully  recognizes,  in  theory  at  least,  the 
great  trutli,  that  the  education  of  the  intellect  cannot  be 


"i: 


: 


I 


HI 


140 


safely  separated  from  moral  training  and  religious  instruc- 
tion ;  and  that  nothing  is  more  important  in  education 
than  the  associations  and  companionship  which  the  school 
brings  with  it ;  and  moreover,  that  it  is  difficult,  often 
impossible,  to  limit,  to  his  special  branch,  the  influence 
which  an  able  and  skillful  teacher  may  acquire  over  the 
minds  of  his  pupils. 

Not  a  few  of  the  teachers  and  inspectors  of  these  pub- 
lic schools  are  agnostics,  and  advocates  of  compulsory  at- 
tendance of  all  children  on  these  schools.  Of  the  compe- 
tency of  the  staff  of  this  public  scliool  system  we  will  give 
a  late  and  striking  illustration.  The  books  to  be  used  in 
the  school  are  appointed  by  Government  authority.  One 
book  that  might  be  used  was  Scott's  "  Marmion  ";  but  the 
Minister  of  Education  (Ontario  has  such  an  official)  lately 
found  out  that  it  was  an  immoral  book ;  and  put  Sir 
Walter's  best  narrative  poem  in  his  Index  Expurgatorius. 
Our  reader  may  discover  for  himself  where  the  literary 
heresy  lies. 

Let  us  suppose  that  we,  who  are  not  Roman  Catholics, 
were  to  find  ourselves,  from  the  result  of  a  great  migra- 
tion from  Ireland — no  impossible  event — surrounded  here 
by  a  greatly  preponderating  population  of  adherents  to 
the  Roman  Church,  carrying  every  election,  filling  every 
office,  and  the  public  schools  with  Roman  Catholic  mas- 
ters and  mistresses  ;  making  by  law  these  "  separate 
schools,"  now  complained  of  by  the  fanatic  advocates  of 
State  education,  the  public  schools  of  the  country,  and 
enacting  compulsory  attendance  on  them  by  all  school 
children !  Would  these  grumblers  against  the  present 
*' separate  schools"  object  to  tliis  measure?  On  what 
grounds  could  they  do  it?  Some  of  these  would-be 
reformers  call  themselves  Protestant  Christians.     They 


141 


would  be  apt  to  become  protestants  against  State  edu- 
cation. 

Judicious  parents  know  that  nothing  in  education  is 
more  important  than  the  companionship  schools  bring 
with  them  ;  and  not  seldom  remove  their  children  from  a 
particular  school,  not  on  account  of  the  teaching,  but  the 
associations. 

As  to  the  course  of  instruction,  we  must  repeat  that  it 
is  especially  the  duty  of  all  religious  organizations  to  pro- 
vide schools  for  the  education  of  tlie  young ;  and  to  exert 
their  influence  with  parents  to  send  their  children  to 
schools  where  the  instruction  of  the  intellect  is  united 
with,  at  least  not  divorced  from,  moral  and  religious  train- 
ing. 

Which  are  the  countries,  that,  of  late  days,  have  made 
the  most  strenuous  efforts  to  control  education?  And 
what,  there,  has  been  the  result  ? 

North  Germany,  or  rather  Prussia,  took  the  lead. 
There  are  many  curious  facts  in  the  spiritual  and  intel- 
lectual history  of  North  Gertnany.  Charlemagne  waged 
long  wars  of  conquest  and  extermination,  nominally  to 
Christianize  the  heathen  there ;  but  that  work  was  really 
accomplished,  before  and  after  his  time,  by  many  eminent 
missionaries,  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  Church  in  the 
Dark  Ages — of  whom  St.  Boniface,  an  Englishman  by 
birth,  and,  in  his  old  age,  a  martyr  to  his  zeal,  was  one  of 
the  earliest,  and  the  most  famous  of  them  all. 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  the  "  Teutonic  Knights,"  a  re- 
ligious military  order,  originating  in  the  Crusades,  imitated 
and  revived  Mohammed's  and  Charlemagne's  process  of 
conversion,  by  making  war  on  the  heathen  inhabitants  on 
the  southern  shores  of  the  Baltic.  They  made  great  con- 
quests, and  became  the  sovereigns  of  Prussia.      Nortli 


I 

■I-; 


m 


I 


142 


Germany  was  now  Christianized,  or  at  least,  Romanized, 
until  tlie  tiine  of  Lnthcr ;  wlio,  with  Melancthon  and 
others,  purified  the  Church  of  some  of  its  abuses,  and 
Nortli  Germany  became  the  eminently  Protestant  coun- 
try. 

But  the  Prussian  State,  whicli  had  become  a  kingdom, 
assumed  in  this  present  century,  the  control  of  education. 
The  Lutheran  Church  and  the  Reformed  Church  in  that 
kingdom,  were  by  the  sovereign  authority  of  a  most  de- 
vout monarch,  amalgamated  into  one  body,  apparently, 
with  little  difficulty ;  which  fact  proves  tliat  botli  of 
these  religious  organizations  were  dead  at  heart.  Neither 
Lutlier  nor  Swinglius  would  recognize  or  acknowledge 
this  re-hash,  dished  up  out  of  the  effete  remnants  of  these 
two  churches. 

The  intellectual  and  spiritual  revolutions  of  North 
Germany  continue  to  be  singular.  The  human  mind 
there  seems  to  be  too  restlessly  inqniring  to  hold  on  to 
any  fixed  belief.  Now,  in  Prussia,  and  elsewhere  in  the 
German  Empire,  a  large  portion  of  the  children  born  are 
never  christened.  A  large  portion  of  the  people  never 
enter  a  place  of  worship ;  and,  dying,  are  buried  without 
the  remotest  allusion  to  the  possibility  that  their  past  life 
here,  may  be  accompanied  and  followed  by  any  responsi- 
bility in  a  life  hereafter.  This  great  change,  since 
Luther's  day,  is  due  chiefly  to  "  State  education." 
Under  its  training  the  people  have  become  too  philo- 
sophical and  scientific  to  tolerate  any  superstition  of  the 
Dark  Ages. 

As  to  State  education  in  France,  the  French,  nnder 
the  training  of  their  philosophers,  the  chief  of  whom  was 
the  witty  and  profligate  Yoltaire,  threw  off  their  Chris- 
tianity more  than  a  century  ago ;  and,  after  that,  in  the 


143 


j> 


orgies  of  their  bloodiest  of  revolutions,  they  publicly 
deified  the  goddess  of  liberty,  making  her  second  only  to 
St.  Guillotine.  Their  system  of  State  education,  as  now 
organized,  is  zealously  sustaining  their  freedom  from  su- 
perstition by  denouncing  Christian  it}',  and  by  persecut- 
ing the  remnant  of  the  Church  yet  lin«jjering  there. 

England,  entering  later  than  Prussia,  on  the  usurpation 
by  the  State  of  tlie  control  of  education,  has,  through 
some  surviving  counter-influences,  not  yet  got  so  far  in 
remoulding  the  minds  and  hearts  of  those  she  would 
instruct.  Accidentally,  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  those  of  the  Scotch  Kirk,  have  been  able 
to  retain  much  influence  over  education,  even  in  the 
State  schools.  But  this  is  only  tolerated  as  yet.  Both 
literature  and  science  are  there  making  great  progress  in 
unbelief  and  agnosticism,  and  the  full  effect  is  yet  to  be 
seen. 

In  the  United  States  the  strong  tendency  is  to  enforce 
education  by  the  Government  with  a  careful  exclusion  of 
religious  instruction.  It  is  held  there  that,  as  universal 
manhood  suffrage  is  the  sole  basis  of  government,  every 
voter  should  be  educated  at  the  cost  of  the  State.  But  in 
fact,  at  least  in  law,  the  Federal  Government  has  no 
rights  or  duties  as  to  State  education  ;  for  that,  if  it  rests 
anywhere,  lies  with  the  individual  States. 

If  education,  which  is  very  general  in  the  United 
States,  has  had  any  effect  on  C7*ime,  it  has  been  simply  to 
increase  it.  The  criminals  are  far  better  educated  than 
they  used  to  be,  and  crime  is  more  rife  than  it  formerly 
was. 

In  Canada,  the  Government  has  entered  fully  on  the 
assumed  duty  of  State  education.  We  already  see  some 
of  the  effects :   an  increasing  desire  to  make  attendance 


■II 


144 


on  the  public  schools  compulsory,  indicating  a  hostility  to 
private  teaching,  and  the  wish  and  aim  to  abolish  private 
ecliools.  The  pretense  of  teaching  the  elements  of  all 
the  sciences  in  tlie  State  schools,  where  children  ac(piire 
the  names  of  abstruse  branches  of  learning  and  science, 
from  teachers,  themselves  not  well -grounded  in  the 
rudiments.  Children  elaborately  drilled  in  new-fa  1 
systems  of  griimmar  by  masters,  and  yet  more  by  mis- 
tresses, of  no  general  reading  beyond  the  daily  paper,  and 
unable  to  speak  pure  English.  An  immense  stress  laid 
on  arithmetic,  so  that  the  multiplication  table  takes  the 
place  occupied,  among  Christians,  by  the  Apostles'  Creed. 
After  a  year's  training  at  these  schools,  a  marked  deteri- 
oration can  be  seen  in  the  manners  and  morals  of  children 
who  have  been  well  brought  up  elsewhere.  The  political 
patronage  this  system  of  public  schools  affords  is  of 
important  use,  and  perhaps  its  chief  recommendatir  to 
politicians. 

It  so  happened  that,  when  a  very  young  man,  I  was, 
for  a  time,  thrown  much  with  a  physician,  a  man  of 
much  ability,  and  of  considerable  attainments  in  physical 
science.  He  had  practised  for  several  years  in  one  place, 
got  dissatisfied  there,  and  was  seeking  another  field  in 
which  to  follow  his  profession.  I  knew  little  of  his  his- 
tory, nor  why  he  left  his  former  place  of  residence. 

I  was  much  struck  with  his  extensive  knowledge  on 
many  points,  all  bearing  on  physical  science.  His  mind 
was  acute,  vigorous,  and  well  stored,  and  T  probably 
learned  not  a  few  things  in  physics  from  him.  But  I 
was  yet  more  deeply  impressed,  on  finding  tliat  to  all 
moral  inquiries,  to  all  spiritual  impressions  that  acute 
mind  was  callous,  and  had  remained  blank.  He  seemed 
to  have  but  one  accidental  moral  qu-'^lty — frankness.     It 


145 


was  as  if  one  lobe  of  bis  brain,  devoted  exclusively  to 
pliysical  i'cHean;li  and  material  impressions,  liad  been  de- 
vel()j)ed  to  fnll  bealtli  and  vi<^or ;  wbile  tbe  otber  lobe, 
which  should  have  been  emj)loyed  on  moral  inquiries  and 
spiritual  experiences,  had  been  purposely  ke])t  idle,  and 
had  become  shriveled  and  perished.  Tliese  impressions 
have  stuck  to  me,  and  further  opportunities  of  similar 
observations  have  convinced  me  that  tbe  assiduous  exclu- 
sive ])ursuit  of  physical  research,  gradually  withers  the 
moral  and  spiritual  side  of  a  man's  nature. 

I  never  knew  but  one  man  who,  entering  very  early  on 
the  pursuit  of  the  physical  sciences,  and  long  following 
up  his  researches  with  enthusiasm,  actually  passed 
through  physics  into  metaphysics,  and  so  to  moral  in- 
quiries ;  yet  he  did  not  abjindon  physics.  I  recognized 
him  to  be,  through  some  u" known  influence,  an  excep- 
tion to  the  result  of  the  exclusive  study  of  physical 
science. 

Now  to  apply  this.  The  army  of  schoolmasters  in 
the  pay  of  the  State  find  it  easier  to  exhibit  a  marked 
and  measured  progress  with  their  scholars,  in  the  exact 
and  materialistic  studies,  than  in  those  which  bear  on 
moral,  and,  possibly,  on  spiritual  matters.  As  the 
employment  and  promotion  of  these  teachers  depends  on 
the  exhibit  they  can  make  of  proficiency  in  their  pupils, 
they  lay  the  greatest  stress  on  the  iirst  class  of  studies, 
which  admit  more  readily  of  being  measured,  and  they 
undervalue  and  neglect  the  other  class. 

Have  you  ever  remarked  the  keen  zest  with  which 
students  of  medicine,  and  especially  of  anatomy,  pursue 
their  studies,  and  compared  them,  in  that  respect,  with 
students  of  language,  law,  or  divinity  ?  Physical  science 
has  a  sort  of  fascination  for  man.      He  is  more  prone 


i- 


146 


i  ! 


to  the  physical  and  animal  side  than  to  the  moral  and 
spiritual  side  of  his  nature.  Many  people,  all  pious  per- 
sons, who  are  aware  of  this  tendency,  are  anxious  to 
counteract  it. 

The  claim  of  the  State  to  control  education  necessarily 
becomes  an  ever-growing  exaction  on  the  community. 
It  weakens  parental  responsibility,  loosens  filial  ties, 
fosters  tlie  presumption  of  youth,  and  unfits  a  large 
j^ortion  for  their  future  occupations.  It  generates  two 
classes  of  people  who  are  always  urging  it  on  to  extrava- 
gance. 1st.  A  vast  array  of  State  teachers,  who,  to  exalt 
tlieir  own  importance  as  State  officials,  urge  the  extension 
of  the  course  of  instruction.  I  have  known  it  made  to 
embrace  music,  French,  and  German.  2d.  A  numerous 
class  of  parents,  who  would  have  their  children  obtain  as 
complete  an  education  as  possible,  provided  it  is  not  at 
their  own  cost.  They  w^ould  gladly  include  foreign 
travel  on  those  terms.  This  claim  of  the  State  is  a  grow- 
ing inciihus  on  society. 

I  cannot  conceive  what  right  the  State  has  to  take  my 
earnings  to  educate  even  my  own  children — much  less 
my  neighbor's  children — still  less  the  children  of  a  man 
I  never  saw,  or  heard  of.  It  has  as  much  right  to  take 
my  earnings  to  feed,  clothe,  and  house  them  ;  or  to  re- 
quire me  to  take  tliem  into  my  house,  and  bring  them  up 
with  my  own,  and  as  my  own.  State  education  neces- 
sarily causes  a  vast  amount  of  misapplied  effort  and  cost 
for  education.  For  the  State  has  not,  like  the  pai'ent, 
and  the  private  teacher,  the  means  of  judging  what  sort 
of  education  the  pupil  is  qualified  to  receive,  and  liow  far 
it  should  be  carried ;  what  it  should  include,  and  what 
exclude. 

The  State  steps  in  to  relieve  the  parent  of  a  sacred 


147 


my 
less 


duty;  to  do  his  thinking  for  him,  and  to  spend  his 
money  for  him,  in  teaching  his  children,  and  other 
people's  children,  at  his  cost.  There  shall  be  no  more 
ignorance !  the  State  will  give  to  the  young  a  scientific 
education  witliout  any  taint  of  Middle  Age  superstition. 
We  are  grieved  to  see  what  is  the  class  of  men  into 
whose  hands  the  guidance  of  the  education  of  youth 
in  the  State  schools  is  falling.  There  are  now  plenty  of 
men  of  Bcience  quite  ready,  on  a  good  salary,  to  pervert 
other  men's  foundations,  and  inculcate  Comtism,  Tyndall- 
ism,  Huxleyism,  Haeckelism. 

To  my  mind,  it  is  impossible  to  exhibit  a  more  glaring 
example  of  folly  and  presumption  than  that  of  men 
of  learning  and  science  taking  their  stand  in  the  midst 
of  the  universe;  gazing  inquiringly  into  its  wonders, 
which  they  do  not  fully  see  ;  making  prying  research  into 
its  mysteries,  which  they  cannot  unravel  ;  sounding  the 
depths  of  Nature,  which  they  cannot  fathom  ;  and  then 
proclaiming  that  the  human  intellect  is  the  highest  order 
of  intelligence  that  manifests  itself  to  us.  The  astron- 
omer vainly  striving  to  map  out  and  measure  the  extent 
of  creation,  and  at  the  same  time  atlieistically  denying 
the  proofs  of  design,  and  of  a  designer;  and  the  ex- 
istence of  final  causes,  and  of  the  causa  causarum^  the 
author  of  them  ;  would  be  the  most  ridiculous  of  objects, 
if,  with  his  teaching  and  example,  demoralizing  his  race, 
he  were  not  the  most  deplorable  object  in  Nature. 

It  is  likely  that  if  modern  States  had  usurped  the  con- 
trol of  education  two,  three,  or  four  cefituries  ago,  the 
world  would  be  now  far  more  ignorant  than  it  is.  We 
infer  this  partly  from  the  fact  that  for  some  centuries,  in 
the  Middle  Ages,  the  Church  of  Kome  had  almost  a 
monopoly  of  education  throughout  western  Europe,  and 


M 

<'i| 


r\% 


148 


<\\i 


'il 


11  in 


did  not  use  it  to  advance  tlie  intellectual  development  of 
society.  At  a  later  day  the  Jesuits,  a  body  of  eminently 
able  and  learned  men,  acquired  an  almost  equal  control 
there  over  education,  and,  witli  eminent  ability  to  teach, 
grossly  perverted  the  end  of  their  teaching. 

There  are  many  indications  that  the  ancient  Egyptians 
received  a  national  education  from  the  priesthood,  and 
the  Chinese  tlirough  their  philosophers  and  the  Buddhist 
priests.  And  in  both  cases  this  semi-State  education 
seems  to  have  stereotyped  the  national  intellect,  rendering 
it  incapable  of  progress,  only  of  copying  and  repeating 
the  works  and  the  thoughts  of  their  forefathers. 

It  is  utterly  impossible  to  foresee  what  may  be  the 
ultimate  result  of  the  contrpl  of  education  in  the  hands 
of  any  governmeut.  Nature,  assuredly,  did  not  place  it 
there. 

One  branch  of  education  the  State  must  take  charge 
of  —  military  education.  But  that  it  should  merely 
superimpose  on  the  liberal  education  pnvate  teaching 
has  settled  on. 

XLY. 

We  have  dwelt  long  on  the  usurpation  by  the  State  of 
the  control  over  charities  and  education ;  not  because  they 
are  the  only,  but  the  chief  usurpations,  and  those  which  as 
yet  they  have  pushed  farthest. 

We  will  speak  of  some  other  usurpations  of  the  State. 
For  instance,  men  have  an  exclusive  right  to  make  their 
own  contracts. 

In  the  best-ordered  connnunity,  individuals  will  have 
disputes  with  each  other  as  to  their  rights.  The  State,  in 
the  fulfillment  of  one  of  its  two  great  duties,  the  admin- 


149 


IState. 
their 


istration  of  justice,  alone  can  decide  the  questions  between 
them.  It  must  enact  rules  and  establish  courts  for 
examining  into  and  decidinc:  these  controversies  between 
the  parties,  many  of  them  springing  out  of  matters  of 
contract. 

The  State  is  often  called  upon  to  define  rights  in  its 
legislation  and  to  adjudge  them  in  its  courts.  But  this 
is  quite  a  different  thing  from  creating  rights,  or  granting 
them,  or  taking  them  away.  The  State  has  not  a  sliadow 
of  claim  to  alter  contracts  made  between  individuals ;  on 
the  contrary  it  is  one  of  its  most  important  duties  to 
enforce  their  fulfillment,  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  they 
are  immoral,  illegal,  or  fraudulent.  And  then  the  State 
is  bound  to  place  the  parties  as  nearly  as  practicable  in 
the  same  condition  they  were  in  as  to  each  other  before 
the  contract  was  made. 

In  cases  which  turn  on  title  or  right  by  long  possession, 
or  claims  after  the  lapse  of  long  time,  as  under  the  statute 
of  limitations,  or  under  the  statute  of  frauds ;  the  State 
merely  refuses  to  interfere  and  investigate  a  claim  after 
the  claimant  has  so  long  slept  upon  his  rights,  or  neglected 
the  proofs  of  his  claim. 

Yet  many  States  have  often  violated  this  right  of  men 
to  make  their  own  contracts,  as  the  British  Government 
has,  we  think,  of  late  repeatedly  done  most  grossly,  and 
on  a  large  scale,  merely  on  grounds  of  temporary  politic-al 
expediency. 

So  in  the  United  States  several  temporanj  Bankrupt 
Acts  have  been  enacted,  under  the  influence  and  pressure 
of  tlie  heavily  indebted  classes,  who  sought  to  be  relieved 
of  their  contract  obligations,  and  set  free  to  embark  on 
new  financial  speculations.  This  was  making  very  free 
with  contracts. 
8 


Mp 


! 


150 


Another  State  usurpation  has  taken  a  peculiar  shape. 
The  riglit  which  a  man  has  to  the  protection  of  the  State 
does  not  deprive  him  of  the  right  to  protect  himself. 
He  has  not  surrendered  the  one  to  receive  the  other. 

For  instance,  a  traveller,  if  told  on  his  journey  that  tlv3 
road  ahead  is  beset  by  a  highwayman,  is  in  no  way  bound 
to  change  his  route  or  apply  for  police  protection.  He 
has  a  right  to  take  his  chance  in  protecting  himself.  So 
if  a  man  be  told  that  a  burglary  a\  ill  be  attempted  on 
his  house,  he  has  a  right  to  hold  his  tongue  and  defend 
his  house  as  his  castle.  In  both  these  cases  he  is  serving 
the  public.  He  is  making  crime  dangerous  to  the  crim- 
inal witliout  the  unreliable  aid  of  a  jury.  Legislation 
against  self-defense  tends  strongly  to  emasculate  a  people. 
Fools  must  have  made  up  the  bulk  of  tlie  parliamentary 
body  which  enacted  laws  making  it  a  penal  offense  to 
wear  secret  weapons.  The  proof  of  tlieir  folly  is  this : 
the  law  only  disarms  the  law-abiding,  leaving  them  un- 
armed before  the  law-defying.  At  the  most,  the  carrying 
of  concealed  weapons  may  be  under  some  circumstances 
an  indication  of  criminal  designs. 

Another  usurpation  wliicli  many  States  have  been,  and 
still  are  guilty  of,  is  the  prohibiting  people  from  leaving 
the  country.  This  is  surely  a  gross  infringement  on 
natural  liberty.  For  a  free  man  has  a  riglit  to  go  where 
he  pleases,  provided  he  is  not  leaving  at  home  unfulfilled 
obligations ;  or  in  time  of  war  going  into  the  enemy's 
country.     For  this  is  v.  sort  of  desertion  to  the  enemy. 

No  State  has  a  right  to  grant  monopolies,  for  they  are 
oppressive  outrages  on  men's  natural  rights.  Yet  most 
States  have  granted  them  to  individuals  and  companies, 
or  have  themselves  usurped  and  exercised  them.  Of 
late  the  latter  are  most  frequent,  and  may  be  made  the 


161 


most  oppressive.  But  what  is  a  monopoly  ?  It  assumes 
a  variety  of  shapes.  The  exclusive  right  to  import  into 
the  country  a  particular  class  of  goods,  or  to  manufacture, 
or  to  deal  in  them,  is  a  monopoly.  So  the  exclusive  right 
to  do  particular  acts,  or  to  render  certain  services  not 
necessarily  done  by  State  agents.  Thus  we  believe  that 
in  some  States  in  Europe  the  impoi-tation  and  trade  in 
tobacco  is  a  government  monopoly.  And  in  British 
India  the  trade  in  opium  seems  to  be  a  monopoly  of  the 
Government. 

But  if  a  person  contrives  some  new  machine  or  tech- 
nical process  of  doing  some  useful  work,  or  if  an  author 
compose  a  book,  the  patent  granted  to  the  former  and 
the  copyright  granted  to  the  latter  are  not  monopolies. 
They  are  simply  certificates  from  the  State  that  the 
article  or  process  patented  and  the  book  copyrighted,  are 
the  fruits  of  the  labor  and  ingenuity  of  particular  persons. 
And  men  have  by  nature  an  exclusive  right  in  their  own 
labor  and  ingenuity,  and  in  the  fruits  of  them,  if  they 
choose  to  reserve  them  for  their  own  use  and  profit.  The 
State  should  protect  this  right  as  all  others.  Any  other 
man  is  at  liberty  to  invent  a  better  machine  or  process 
for  doing  the  same  work  done  by  the  patented  machine 
or  process,  or  to  compose  a  better  book  than  tlie  one 
copyrighted,  on  the  same  subject,  and  thus  possibly 
deprive  them  of  their  value  on  sale.  The  only  restriction 
laid  on  the  later  inventor  or  author  is,  he  must  not  avail 
himself  of  the  invention  or  composition  of  his  ])rede- 
cessor.  He  must  not  build  on  another  man's  founda- 
tions. 

So  the  State  may  justly  exact  from  members  of  such 
professions  as  expect  to  live  by  their  practice  among  the 
community,  some  security  that  they  are  what  they  pro- 


162 


fess  to  be.     Thus,  the  legal  profession  are  in  some  degree 
officers  of   the  courts  in  which  they  practise;  and  are 
not  admitted  to  practise  tliere  until  they  have  certificates 
from  some  appointed  schools  of  law,  that  they  have  gone 
through  a  certain  course  of  studies,  and  stood  a  satisfac- 
tory examination  in  them.     So  with  those  who  seek  to 
practise  medicine.     The  State  exacts  from  them  proofs 
that  they  have  qualified  themselves  for  this  profession, 
as  certified  by  the  diploma  of  some  authorized  school  of 
medicine.     And  so  with  all  professions  which  require  a 
training  in  high  and  difiicult  branches  of  science  and 
art — as  apothecaries,  chemists,  surveyors,  and  engineers. 
For  many  persons  on  the  lookout  for  the  means  of  living, 
are  quite  ready  to  assume  any  of  these  professions  with 
little  or  no  qualification  for  them,  trusting  for  success  to 
their  plausible  pretensions,  and  the  gullibility  of  che  bulk 
of  tlie  community.     The  State  is  bound  to  take  these  pre- 
cautions, and  exact  proofs  of  competency  in  professional 
men,  who  seek  to  live  by  the  practice  of  callings  wliich 
imply   elaborate   and   somewhat  occult    jn-eparation  for 
their  mastery.     This  is  necessary  for  the  protection  of 
the  ignorant  and  the  incautious ;  and  is  not  granting  a 
monopoly,  for  it  grants  no  exclusive  right,  not  lin)iting 
the  number  of  professional  men. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  some  people,  who  have  all  their 
lives  found  an  institution  of  the  State,  a  very  great  con- 
venience to  them  ;  and  learned  to  look  upon  it  as  a  neces- 
sary of  civilized  life,  to  hear  me  call  it  amonopoly,  and  a 
State  monopoly — I  mean  the  post-office.  Yet  when  we 
trace  its  origin  and  history,  we  fi^id  that  it  has  become  a 
monopoly ;  and  more  than  that,  the  fruitful  mother  of 
monopolies — at  least,  its  extreme  convenience  has  sug- 
gested, and  is  suggesting  to  States,  others  of  a  most  dan- 
gerous and  usurping  character. 


163 


ig  a 


of 


In  very  early  times  States  with  wide  territories  soon 
found  that  tlicy  needed  an  establishment  of  couriers, 
posted  at  many  points,  for  the  speedy  conveyance  of 
orders  from,  and  intelligence  to,  the  seat  of  government. 
The  earliest  system  of  post  we  know  of  was  that  in  the 
Persian  Empire.  The  TtineTarmm  Antoniiii  implies  a 
similar  provision  in  the  Roman  Empire.  All  extensive 
States  doubtless  followed  these  examples^. 

Mercliants  and  others  soon  found  out  that  it  would  be 
more  than  convenient  for  their  correspondence  to  be  car- 
ried by  the  State's  courier ;  and  court  favor  or  bribery  got 
their  letters  so  conveyed.  The  State,  too,  found  out  that  this 
carriage  of  private  correspondence  might  be  made  a  source 
of  revenue.  The  post-office  gradually  became  a  depart- 
ment of  the  government,  and  to  mal'"  it  more  profitable, 
private  persons  were  prohibited,  under  heavy  penalties, 
making  a  business  of  conveying  any  correspondence. 
That  service  was  made  a  monopoly  of  the  State.  Doubt- 
less, besides  the  revenue,  the  power  of  examining  polit- 
ical correspondence  was  a  motive.  We  have  known  this 
done. 

In  England  the  post-office  was  long  a  source  of  great 
revenue,  and  still  is,  although  latterly  the  policy  has  been 
to  cheapen  postage  for  the  convenience  of  the  people. 

In  the  United  States,  on  the  other  hand,  the  post-office 
never  became  a  source  of  revenue,  but  until  very  lately 
was  a  burden,  costing  the  country  seven  or  eight  millions 
annually.  Still  the  postage  was  cheapened,  that  the  Gov- 
ernment might  boast  of  performing  the  great  duty  of  carry 
ing  to  every  man  his  letters,  and  yet  more  his  newspaj)ers, 
clieaply,  to  keep  him  educated  and  informed  on  public 
affairs,  at  the  least  possible  cost.  Yet  it  held  on  to  its 
monopoly,  laying  heavy  penalties  on  any  who  interfered 


\ 


\ 


I 


154  >* 

with  it.  Now  this  monopoly  is  evidently  an  artificial 
system,  preventing  matters  taking  their  natural  course; 
compelling  some  people  to  pay  the  greater  part  of 
other's  postage  in  the  shape  of  millions  raised  to  pay 
the  deficiencies  and  losses  of  the  post-oflice.  If  the 
conveyance  of  letters  were  free  to  common  carriers,  sucli 
as  the  express  companies,  the  cost  of  postage  in  cities  and 
towns  would  be  yet  lower  than  it  is.  People  who  live  in 
out-of-the-way  places  would  have  to  pay  more  for  their 
correspondence,  as  they  should.  If  the  post-ofiice  had 
not  been  one  of  the  especial  prerogatives  (monopolies) 
of  the  United  States,  the  people  would  have  saved 
millions  annually,  and  besides  have  escaped  the  robberies 
of  the  Star  Route  contractors.  ]3ut  the  Grovernment 
holds  on  to  this  monopoly,  at  any  cost,  for  it  gives  it  tiie 
control  and  patronage  of  00,000  office-holders.  It  seeks, 
and  is  urged  to  seize  on  other  monopolies,  as  to  become 
the  sole  connnon  carrier  and  intelligencer,  by  monopoliz- 
ing the  railroads  and  telegraph  lines.  Doing  these  parts 
of  the  people's  business  for  them  will  give  the  Govern- 
ment the  patronage  of  another  army  of  office-holders. 

For  the  great  convenience  and  apparent  success  of  this 
post-office  monopoly  has  set  some  wild  ideas  afloat 
through  the  country.  It  is  furnishing  stepping-stones 
for  wild  projects  of  Government  monopoly.  If  it  can  so 
well  convey  every  man's  correspondence  for  him,  why 
should  it  not  perform  many  other  services  for  the  people. 
There  are  men  in  the  country  widely  listened  to,  by  mul- 
titudes who  have  votes,  if  they  have  nothing  else,  urging 
that  tlie  Government  should  appropriate  the  railroads, 
telograjdi  lines,  the  education  of  all  children,  the  regula- 
tion of  lal)or  and  wages,  the  abolition  of  patents  and  copy- 
right, the  acquisition  and  the  ownership  of  j^coal  mines, 


155 


iron,  gold,  and  silver  mines,  and  petroleum  wells — in 
order  to  attend  better  to  the  people's  welfare.  To  crown 
all,  the  Government  is  strongly  urged  to  make  itself  the 
sole  landholder  in  the  confederation  ;  or  at  least  to  confis- 
cate all  net  rent,  for  the  ec^ual  benefit  of  all  the  people. 

The  smaller  monopolies  of  former  days  dwindle  into 
nothingness  before  these  splendid  examples  of  State 
usurpation  about  to  be  carried  into  operation. 


XLYI. 


tones 


•gmg 


tn 


!opy- 
ines. 


,  The  searching  ingenuity  of  these  reformers  has  sug- 
gested another  line  of  usurpation  to  the  United  States 
Government. 

A  State  lias  a  right  to  enact  sanitary  laws,  and  to  abate 
nuisances.  This  is  a  part  of  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice. The  creating  of  nuisances  and  neglect  of  sanitaty 
precautions  are  wrongs  to  other  people. 

In  wliat  way  does  tlie  need  of  sanitary  laws  arise  ?  Di- 
rectly out  of  the  habits  and  pursuits  of  human  society. 
Animals  in  a  state  of  nature,  undisturbed  by  men,  are 
healthy,  cleanlv,  and  content,  under  the  guidance  of  their 
instincts.  Men,  under  the  guidance  of  their  reason,  are 
discontented  with  their  state,  constantly  striving  to  better 
their  condition,  and  often  altering  it  for  the  worse.  They 
become  filthy  in  their  habits  and  surroundings,  sickly 
from  privations  and  exposure  to  causes  generating  dis- 
ease, and  become  sources  of  contagion  in  their  persons, 
and  yet  more  in  their  homes,  to  their  neighbors ;  especially 
where  trade  and  manufactures  draw  many  together,  and 
accumulate  perishable  materials  at  one  point. 

The  offensive  refuse  collected  in  and  around  the  winter 


156 


n 


il 


i' 


I 


¥:. 


huts  of  the  Esquimaux,  the  leavings  of  a  long  winter  of 
uncleanly  living,  does  not  exceed  that  wliich  would 
gather  in  and  about  many  places  wliere  population  is 
crowded  together  by  traffic  and  in^lustry.  What  would 
be  the  condition  of  tlie  tratnp-houses,  in  large  European 
cities,  or  of  the  tenements  in  those  American  ports,  where 
hundreds  of  emigrants,  whole  colonies  of  Irish  and  other 
foreigners,  are  crowded  together— hundreds  under  one 
roof,  two  or  more  families  at  times  in  one  room — but  for 
the  enforcement  of  sanitary  regulations  as  to  ventilation, 
drainage,  removal  of  filth,  and  of  the  remnants  of  un- 
wholesome trades  ? 

But  the  sanitary  regulations  should  be  limited  to  neces- 
sary sanitary  objects.  Tiiey  may  be,  and  are  easily  per- 
verted to  intrusive,  intermeddling,  oppressive  ends ;  and 
become  nuisances  themselves,  doing  far  more  harm  than 
good,  violating  far  higher  laws.  Many  examples  might 
b  *given  of  this.  I  will  content  myself  with  one,  which 
I  know  will  meet  with  opposition.  No  doubt  vaccination 
is  a  safeguard  against  small-pox.  A  State  may  well  make 
it  the  prerequisite  to  entering  its  service  in  any  capacity, 
and  thus  familiarize  people  with  it  as  a  wise  precaution. 
But  it  is  an  infringement  on  natural  liberty  to  compel 
anybody  to  submit  to  vaccination. 

Some  of  the  new  reformers  in  the  United  States  have 
taken  sanitary  laws  under  their  special  patronage.  One 
of  them  in  his  advice  to  the  Government,  not  unsolicited, 
says  :  "  The  present  system  under  which  Boards  of  Health 
act  is  not  effectual,  as  is  seen  by  the  state  of  the  public 
health  in  all  great  cities."  "I  recommend  the  establish- 
ment by  Congress  of  efficient  Boards  of  Health — under  a 
comprehensive  system  and  policy." 

This  is  coolly  proposing  to  Congress  to  abolish  the 


167 


:he 


Boards  of  Health  established  hy  the  States,  and  tlie  mu- 
nicipalities of  cities,  as  ineffective  ;  and  to  substitute  for 
them,  by  the  authority  of  the  Federal  (lovernment,  a 
national  Board — with  more  arms  than  Briareua,  one 
reacliing  to  every  populous  or  sickly  locality  in  the  con- 
federacy, to  take  sanitary  matter?  under  its  control  there. 

Such  a  usurpation  and  concentration  of  power  would 
be  a  greater  evil  than  a  visit  from  the  plague  or  the  chol- 
era. What  an  intermeddling  and  costlv  nuisance  would 
this  prying,  domineering  agency  become  to  the  ])rivacy 
of  every  home !  How  incompatible  with  freedom !  How 
utterly  foreign  to  what  the  United  States  Government 
and  the  State  governments  profess  to  be  I 

All  these  reformers  utterly  forget  that  the  United 
States  profess  to  be  a  confederation  of  States ;  or  rather, 
they  aim  at  destroying  more  completely  than  has  yet  been 
done,  the  Federal  character  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment ;  and  convert  the  States,  the  creators  of  the  confed- 
eration, into  the  provinces  of  a  sovereign  concentrated 
power. 

We  liave  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  theory  of  "emi- 
nent domain."  Have  they  forgotten  that,  even  under 
that  theory,  "eminent  domain"  does  not  vest  in  the 
United  States— unless  in  the  Southern  States  which  were 
conquered  in  the  War  of  Secession  ?  Even  there,  in  all 
cases  of  escheats,  the  escheated  land  goes  to  the  State. 
The  United  States  Government  cannot  grant  a  charter 
for  a  railroad  from  Buffalo  to  New  York  City,  or  from 
Pittsburg  to  Philadelphia,  or  from  Springfield  to  Boston 
— for  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania  claim 
to  be  States,  and  that  "eminent  domain  "  lies  in  them. 
They  hold  that  the  United  States  Government  is  only  a 
Federal  Government  for.  certain  purposes  specified  in  the 
8* 


■t  it 


158 


Constitution.  But  these  reformers  would  sweep  away 
what  remnants  of  this  (.\)nstitiition  are  yet  left.  It  never 
was  anythinf!^  more  than  a  treaty  hetween  States ;  and 
now  it  is  but  a  broken  treaty ;  and  tliey  would  have  it 
utterly  forgotten. 


XLYll. 

In  these  latter  times  tliere  has  been  a  great  crop  of 
these  dreamy,  visionary,  j)()litical  theorists  ;  utterly  dissat- 
isfied witli  the  social  and  political  institutions  of  their 
time  and  country ;  indeed,  burning  with  zeal  to  reform 
and  revolutionize  tlie  world. 

Witliout  going  mto  farther  details  of  their  conflicting 
views  and  teachings,  we  cannot  help  commenting  on  one 
point  in  which  they  all  resemble  each  other :  the  indica- 
tions of  an  astounding  ignorance  of  human  nature. 

They  all  look  forward  to  radical  changes  in  the  traits 
of  mankind  —a  perfectil)ility,  the  result  of  a  gradual  or 
sudden  development,  by  education  or  training,  to  larger 
and  higlier  views,  the  effect   of  their  enlightening  in- 
structions.     Humanity,  according  to  them,  is  made  of 
wax  or  plastic  clay,  to  be  moulded  into  new  forms.     And 
each  of  these  dreamers  hopes  to  be  the  creative  artist 
who  will  furnish  the  mould  to  turn  out  the  desired  model. 
Or,   ratlier,   each   of    them   imagines    himself    a   great 
alchvmist,  whose  wondrous  art  can  convert  the  animal 
man  into  what  he  never  yet  has  been,  nor  was  mean 
be.     Do  not  these  peo])le  know  that  the  onl     sv*' 
men  have  ever  made  to  perfection,  has  been         tiie  p 
fection  of  rascality  ? 

Althougli  little  of  a  scholar,  and  less  of  a  linguioi,  1 
know  enough  of  the  history  of  the  languages  and  litem- 


169 


tiires  of  several  of  the  most  intellectual  races  of  men,  to 
^atlier  from  them  facts  that  seem  to  mo  to  cut  off  all 
liope  of  a  great  intellectual  improvement  of  onr  race  at 
any  future  time,  by  that  education  and  high  training,  to 
the  accomplishment  of  wiiich  the  most  radical  of  our 
revolutionary  reformers  would  devote  ihe  confiscated 
rental  of  all  the  land  in  the  United  States. 

If  you  take  in  chronological  order  the  literature  and 
language  of  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  the  Italians,  the 
English,  the  French,  and  the  Germans,  you  will  lind  that 
each  of  these  literatures,  tongues,  and  peoples,  had  a 
period  of  genius,  of  invention,  and  of  originality,  during 
which  the  language  and  race  are  rising  to  their  highest 
point  of  development.  This  is  followed  by  a  period  of 
criticism  and  scholarship,  in  which  the  race  strive  to 
rival  their  predecessors,  but  never  rise  to  their  level. 
This  is  followed  usually  by  a  long  period  of  mediocrity. 
There  "may  be  a  re7iai88(inee^  but  that  regeneration  always 
betrays  a  degeneration.  LiteratUiC  may  be,,  and  is,  more 
widely  cultivated  ;  but  the  three  stages  of  the  national 
mind — originality  and  invention,  criticism  and  imitative 
scholarship,  and  mediocrity  and  decline — never  reverse 
their  order.  There  seems  to  be  no  necessary  connection 
~  between  t\\\^  fonnula  of  intellectual  rise,  progress,  and 
decline,  and  that  of  the  mechanical  and  useful  arts  of 
practical  life  and  business.  Kor  does  the  use  of  steam, 
electricity,  the  telescope,  the  microscope,  the  solar 
spectrum,  however  much  they  may  add  t(t  our  knowledge 
and  powers,  produce  any  enlargement  of  the  faculties  of 
our  minds,  or  make  men  ^cisei^  than  they  were. 

A  remarkable  example  of  this,  as  to  language,  is  shown 
in  the  late  effort  of  a  bodv  of  learned  men  to  amend  the 
English  version  of  the  Scriptures  of  1611.      They,  in 


:?  i 


160 


' 


many  parts,  violated  the  idioms  and  ruined  the  melody 
and  pathos  of  the  older  version.     This  was  owing  to  that 
version  having  been  made  by  great  masters  of  the  English 
tongue  when  it  had  attained  its  perfection — when  Shakes- 
peare was  writing  his  last  plays,  and    Lord  Bacon  his 
short  but  inimitable  "  Essays,   Moral,  ICconomical,  and 
Political."     For  then  the  language  had  attained  its  great- 
est power  of  expressing  the  thoughts,  sentiments,   pas- 
sions, and  characteristics  of  men  in  a  perfection  it  has 
never  rivaled  since.      We  may  learn  from  this  experi- 
ment that  the  purity  and  force  of  our  tongue  has  been 
Inirgely  preserved  to  us  through  nearly  three  centuries  of 
eventful  changes,  by  this  very  old  veivion  they  sought  to 
amend.     They  may  have  rid  the  Scriptures  of  one  or  two 
interpolations,  as  that  in  1st  J  ohn,  chapter  5,  v.   7 ;   but 
they  have  made  many  other  doubtful,  if  not  false,  cor- 
rections. 

From  these  observations  on  the  rise,  progress,  and 
decline,  in  the  languages  and  the  literature  embodied  in 
them,  I  infer  that  even  for  tlie  most  intellectual  races  of 
men  there  is  a  limit  fixed  by  Nature,  above  which  they 
cannot  rise.  Thus  the  literature  in  the  United  States  is 
but  a  branch  from  that  of  England,  transplanted  in  the 
period  of  mediocrity.  Who  wildly  expects  it  to  produce 
a  Shakespeare  or  Milton  ?  It  would  l)e  wonderful  if  it 
ever  became  to  that  of  England  what  the  literature  of 
Alexandrif!,  was  to  that  of  Greece. 

Any  observant  man  lias  opportunities  of  learning  much 
of  human  nature,  by  merely  closely  watcliing  the  traits 
and  conduct  of  the  crowd  of  his  fellow  creatures  around 
him.  lie  may,  too,  if  he  be  a  reader,  compare  those  he 
knows  personally  with  what  men  have  been  in  past  times. 
For    the    history    of    man's   nature,  as   shown    by    his 


1(')1 


tlioughts,  words,  and  actions,  under  a  vast  variety  of 
conditions,  is  accessible  to  us  for  at  least  twenty-five 
hundred  years.     - 

We  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  wise  Socrates 
must  have  often  been  forced  to  converse  with  fools  in 
Athens,  the  very  counterpart,  in  their  nature,  of  those  we 
meet  with  now.  And  Aristides,  the  Just,  must  have  met 
with  knaves  there,  quite  equal  to  any  this  enlightened 
age  can  put  forward.  We  have  not,  from  the  broadest 
experience  within  our  reach,  a  shadow  of  a  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  human  nature,  in  its  intellect,  passions,  motives, 
and  innate  characteristics,  has  changed  within  recorded 
time.  Men  have  learned  some  things  formerly  unknown. 
In  particular  countries  manners  and  habits  have  under- 
gone great  changes.  Many  men,  of  certain  races,  have 
learned  many  things.  But  the  haman  race  is  the  same 
it  was  in  ))rimitive  times.  Tlie  unjust  are  unjust  still ; 
the  filthy  are  filthy  still ;  the  righteous  are  righteous 
still. 

Some  of  these  revolutionizing  reformers  are  learned 
men,  and,  in  a  certain  sense,  men  of  ability,  especially  to 
make  tlie  worse  appear  the -better  cause.  But  at  the 
bottom  they  have  no  more  wisdom  than  "  Jack  Cade, 
the  clotliier,  who  ineans  to  dress  tlie  commonwealth, 
turn  it,  and  put  a  new  nap  on  it."  "  There  shall  be,  in 
England,  seven  half-penny  loaves  sold  for  a  penny  ;  the 
three-hooi)ed  pot  shall  have  seven  hoops,  and  I  will  make 
it  felony  to  drink  small  beer.  All  the  realm  shall  be  in 
common !" 

Jack  (^ade,  although  less  learned  than  these  modern  re- 
formers, fairly  represents  them  all.  There  are  many 
reasons  why  these  extravagances  and  absurdities  should 
not    surprise  us.     They   are  not   new,  but   only  more 


162 


^ 


prevalent  t)uiii  in  former  times.     That  is  tlie  alarming 
fact. 


XLVIII. 


To  PROVE  liow  apt  even  minds  of  the  highest  order  are 
to  go  astray,  when  dealing  with  questions  on  sociology 
and  politics,  we  will  state  that  hoth  Plato  and  Aristotle 
approved  of  infanticide,  as  a  means  of  checking  a  surplus 
population,  or  of  getting  rid  of  deformed  or  feeble  infants. 
Plato,  if  he  meant  his  Republic  for  a  treatise  on  practical 
politics,  if  I  remember  it  correctly,  shows  an  utter  dis- 
regard for  the  marital  and  parental  impulses  which  govern 
men  in  domestic  life  ;  making  his  citizens  mere  imple- 
ments for  political  purposes ;  pawns  to  be  posted  on  the 
chess-board  and  moved  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
political  game.     So  much  for  the  wisdom  of  antiquity. 

Coming  down  to  modern  times,  even  to  our  own  day, 
Grote,  the  banker,  the  leamed  historian  of  Greece,  and  com- 
mentator on  tlie  works  of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  so  bewil- 
dered his  mind  with  classical  studies,  the  theories  of  ancient 
democracy,  and  with  Grecian  mythology,  tliat  he  became 
convinced  that  all  the  virtues  lie  found  so  conspicuously 
wanting  in  the  well-born  peo|)le  of  his  own  time  and 
country,  lie  had  found  in  perfection  and  abundance  among 
the  oligarchical  slaveholders  of  Greece  and  Rome.  He 
could  not  perceive,  and  never  suspected,  that  the  barons 
who  met  at  Runnvmede  to  wrest  the  Great  Charter  from 
King  John,  were  stancher  friends  to  human  rights, 
better  democrats,  in  fact,  than  his  model  patriots  of 
the  ancient  republics.  Groto  was  thoroughly  classic  in  all 
his  convictions.  While  he  scorned  all  superstitious  rever- 
ence for  Jehovah  or  for  Christ,  he  was  so  crazed  with 


ii 


163 


classic  mythology,  that,  on  his  visit  to  Poestum,  in  Italy, 
his  feelings  of  veneration  were  moved  to  deep  religious 
awe,  on  viewing  the  crumbling  memorials  of  the  worship 
of  Poseidon.  {The  Temple  of  Neptune  yet  standhg 
there.) 

Tiie  gulhbility  of  men  was  never  more  strongly  dis- 
played, than  when,  in  the  last  century,  Rousseau's  elo- 
quent sentimentalities  and  bold  speculations  on  politics 
and  sociolouy,  excited  the  most  intense  interest  and 
admiration  in  tlie  reading  world  of  his  day.  Yet  his 
great  work,  Dti  (Jontrat  Socid/,  is  false  in  conception, 
and  could  only  serve  to  unsettle  and  revolutionize  society, 
keeping  it  in  ceaseless  ferment  and  tumult.  And  while 
he  was  writing  his  eloquent  and  nnicli  lauded  essay, 
Eniile^  on  de  F Efhicatlon  (a  subject  he  knew  nothing 
about),  he  was  sending  his  bastards,  as  soon  as  they  were 
born,  to  the  foundling  hospital. 

J.  Stewart  Mill,  whose  works  and  teachings  have  ex- 
ercised wide  and  powerful  influence  over  the  convictions 
of  his  numberless  readers,  and  beyond  them,  on  others,  in 
this  generation,  teaches  the  absurd  <l<»ctrine,  that  wages 
should  be  ecpialized  among  workmen,  and  not  propor- 
tioned to  their  abilitv  and  skill.  As  if  Nature  had  not 
obviouslv  orovided  increase  of  earnings  as  the  stimulant 
to  industry,  and  to  the  acipiiring  of  skill ;  and  narrow 
gains  and  want,  as  the  })enalty  for  iiulolence  and  negli- 
gence. 

Proudhoii,  an  otherwi.^e  obscure  French  author,  was 
more  successful  than  abler  men  ;  for  he  made  himself 
famous  and  poi)ular,  by  ])ublishing  to  the  world,  in  three 
words,  his  great  discovery,  that  /!'<  Propri'te  c'est  vol. 
At  once  a  crowd  of  converts,  political  agitators,  took  up 
theory.     "  Property  is  robbery  !    The  bounties  of  Nature 


I 


II 
'■tpl 


164 


are  given  to  all  mankind ;  who  are  defrauded  by  the  ex- 
clusive possession  of  individuals." 

There  is  no  end  to  absurd  propositions  like  these,  each 
backed  by  the  name  of  some  would -be  reforming 
philosopher.  They  serve  well  to  prove  the  truth  of  the 
maxim  which  the  wise  Swedish  Chancellor,  Oxenstiern, 
impressed  upon  liis  son  :  "  You  do  not  know  yet,  my  son, 
with  how  little  wisdom  men  are  governed."  And  they 
equally  exhibit  the  truth  of  Luther's  wise  saying : 
"Human  reason  is  like  a  drunken  clown:  help  him  up 
on  one  side  of  his  horse,  and  he  topples  over  on  the  other." 


XLIX. 


r 


It  is  not  very  difficult  to  exhibit  the  errors  and  absurd- 
ities of  men,  even  of  learned  men,  and  would-be  philos- 
ophers and  statesmen.  The  follies  and  blunders  of 
governments  are  almost  equally  open  to  comment. 

We  of  English  origin,  educated  in  English  notions  of 
the  wisdom  and  justice  of  parliamentary  legislation,  and 
the  maintenance  thereby  of  natural  and  legal  rights  ;  are 
apt  to  overlook  the  many  gross  outrages  perpetrated 
systematically,  and  even  in  tlie  name  of  the  law,  on  the 
natural  rights  of  men,  under  the  Britisli  Government. 
We  will  point  out  some  of  them. 

1.  The  operation  of  the  poor  laws,  especially  in  the 
eighteenth  and  early  part  of  this  century,  was  a  tyranny, 
in  its  restrictions  on      o  liberty  of  the  laboring  dass. 

2.  The  press-o-ang  method  of  recruiting  for  the  navy 
was  in  many  cases  far  worse  tlian  the  French  Govern- 
ment's use  of  the  Bastile,  and  of  the  lettres  de  cachet,  or 
than  that  of  the  Russian  Government's  use  of  banishment 


\ 


165 


5J 


to  Siberia.  For  doubtles8  many  persons  were  justly  ar- 
rested and  confined  in  the  Bastile;  and  many  were 
deservedly  banished  to  Siberia ;  but  no  man  ever  was 
justly  seized  upon,  perhaps  after  being  knocked  down, 
and  forced  on  sliip-board  by  a  press-gang.  Charged  with 
no  crime,  in  the  process  of  arrest  he  was  treated  worse 
than  a  criminal. 

3.  The  outrageous  usurpation  of  intermeddling  with 
what  men  deem  their  God-given  right  to  educate  their 
own  children — very  often  children  not  abandoned  or  neg- 
lected, but  duly  cared  for,  trained,  and  controlled  by 
their  parents. 

4.  The  gross  perversion  of  the  duty  of  administering 
justice,  in  assuming  the  power  to  alter  and  set  aside  con- 
tracts between  individuals,  not  illegal  or  immoral,  on  the 
ground  of  temporary  political  expediency. 

These  particular  wrongs  betray  ignorance  or  disregard 
of  the  alphabet  of  human  rights.  To  these  tlie  British 
Government  have  added  political  blunders  of  the  gross- 
est kind. 

5.  The  absurdity  of  continuing  to  hold  on  to  gravei/ard 
colonies,  which  have  lost  their  value,  or  never  had  any, 
such  as  Jamaica,  Cape  Coast  Castle,  and  other  points  in 
the  West  Indies,  and  on  the  coast  of  tropical  Africa; 
thus  wasting  tliere  the  people's  money,  and  the  lives  of 
soldiers,  seamen,  and  officials,  in  these  j>est-ho7£s. 

6.  There  is  one  important  matter,  in  dealing  with 
which,  the  British  Parliament  have  betrayed  egregious  in- 
capacity. More  than  forty  years  ago  the  principles  in- 
volved were  pretty  fully  established,  in  the  great  contro- 
versy, the  political  battle  on  the  "Corn  Laws."  It  was 
then  settled  in  Great  Britain  that  it  is  a  natural  and  es- 
sential part  of  a  man's  liberty  and  rights,  to  seek,  for  the 


Ili 


1  ( 


166 


proceeds  of  liis  industry,  and  the  supply  of  liis  needs,  the 
best  market  the  world  affords. 

Parliament  at  once  proceeded  to  give  to  all  British  sub- 
jects in  Great  Britain,  as  far  as  possible,  the  benefit  of 
this  great  natural  right.  It  seems  never  to  have  stinick 
tlieni,  tliat,  if  it  was  a  right,  British  subjects  in  the  colo- 
nies had  an  equal  claim  to  it  as  those  at  home.  If  there 
had  been  one  statesman  among  this  crowd  of  politicians, 
he  would  have  pointed  out,  and  convinced  them  that  this 
principle  furnished  the  key  to  the  true  colonial  policy  of 
the  Empire.  Tiie  Government  had  only  to  liold  one 
convenient  port  in  eacli  colony,  declare  it  a  free  port,  and 
thus  secure  to  every  British  subject  in  that  colony  his 
gi'eat  natural  right  of  free  trade,  with  every  part  of  the 
Empire  at  least ;  and  thus  prevent  the  rise  and  progress  of 
the  fallacies  of  that  "  protective  system  " — which  is  but 
an  adroit  mode  of  robbing  others  for  your  own  benefit. 
It  is,  perhaps,  not  yet  too  late  to  enter  on  this  colonial 
policy  of  justice  to  all. 

The  colonies,  to  raise  a  revenue,  besides  honest  direct 
taxation,  might  lay  wliat  duties  tliey  pleased  on  foreign 
goods.  But  every  producticm  of  any  part  of  the  Emi:)ire, 
should  be  free  of  duty,  with  this  one  exception — any  ex- 
cisable articles,  as  spirits  and  other  liquors,  sliould  pay  a 
duty  equal  to  tlie  excise  imposed  at  the  point  of  importa- 
tion. Tliis  colonial  policy  would  make  it  an  Empire 
which  need  ask  no  commercial  favors  from  the  rest  of 
the  world.  It  would  add  to  the  resources  needed  for  the 
support  of  tlie  army  and  navy,  maintained  for  the  defense 
of  the  whole  Empire. 

But  the  British  Parliament  were  much  in  the  predica- 
ment of  Luther's  drunken  clown.  In  their  old  colonial 
policy  they  had  attempted  to  tax  unrepresented  colonies, 


167 


and  for  that  purpose  made  use,  first  of  the  "  Stamp  Act," 
then  of  a  monopoly — the  East  India  Comj^any's — of  the 
tea  trade.  Failing  in  their  attempt  to  tax  these  colonies, 
they  now  toi)pled  over  on  tlie  other  side,  and  permitted 
the  other  colonies  to  tax  the  products  of  the  mother 
country,  as  foreign  goods,  which  tended  to  make  the 
colonies  little  worth  keeping;  not  worth  defending  at 
any  great  cost. 

We  have  spoken  only  of  the  blunders  of  the  British 
Government,  and,  in  our  ignorance,  have  not  exhausted 
tiie  list.  We  will  now  refer  to  some,  not  peculiar  to 
Great  J^ritain. 

What  greater  inconsistency  in  politics  and  law  can  be 
pointed  out,  than  that  a  State  should  enact  and  enforce 
severe  penalties  for  trespass  on  property,  for  highway 
robbery,  burglary,  arson,  and  other  assaults  on  [)roprietary 
rights ;  and  yet  tolerate  tiie  0])en  teaching  by  demagogues 
and  seditious  journals,  using  every  art  to  convince  the 
populace,  that  the  appropriation  by  individuals  of  part 
of  the  material  gifts  of  Nature,  is  robbing  tlie  rest  of 
mankind?  That  this  appropriation  has  generated  a  con- 
dition of  society,  and  a  political  organization,  so  unnat- 
ural and  tyrannous,  tliat  it  should  be  overthrown  at  all 
hazards,  at  any  cost — even  the  wholesale  slaughter  of 
those  who  persist  in  upholding  it ! 

Is  not  the  denouncing  of  property  iu  land  and  other 
valuable  possessions,  a  direct  inciting  of  tlie  multitude  to 
robbery  and  bloodshed  ?  And  this  done  by  crazy  politi- 
cal fanatics,  who  would  not  scruple  at  any  outrage,  if 
they  had  the  mob  at  tlieir  backs!  ()])portunity  and 
power  only  are  wanting  to  prove  them  monsters  of  in- 
iquity, oidy  to  be  rivaled  by  the  her«)es  who  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  atrocities  during  the  "  Keign  of  Ter- 


168 


ror"  and  during  that  of  the  "  Comimine  in  Paris."  How 
dare  any  State  punish  a  man  for  highway  robbery,  even 
when  attended  with  murder ;  yet  leave  unpunished  these 
inciters  to  and  propagators  of  crime  ;  tliese  tramj^lers  on 
the  legal  rights,  whicli  tlie  State  was  established  to  de- 
fend ?  VVliy  does  it  not  strip  them  of  all  ])roperty,  if  they 
have  any,  and  make  pernianent  provision  for  them  in  jail, 
penitentiary,  or  mad-house — where  their  ravings  cannot 
unsettle  the  wholesome  convictions  of  sober-minded  men? 

Is  there  such  a  thing  as  the  comity  of  nations  ?  When 
two  States  make  treaties,  and  profess  to  be  on  friendly 
terms  with  each  other,  it  is  an  outrage,  not  onl}^  against 
tlie  law  of  nations,  but  against  good  morals  and  common 
decency,  for  one  of  them  to  shelter  and  defend,  as  citizens, 
fugitives  from  the  other,  who  still  claim  to  be  citizens  of 
one  of  the  i)rovinces  of  that  other  State  which  they  have 
left,  while  they  make  use  of  the  protection  of  the  country 
which  shelters  them,  as  a  safe  point  from  which  they  may 
wage  war  against  the  country  they  have  quarrelled  with. 
It  is  an  unheard-of  outrage  for  tlie  sheltering  State  to 
allow  and  encourage,  by  connivance,  these  men  in  making 
open  preparation  for  wholesale  murder  abroad,  and  openly 
experiment  on  the  efficiency  of  the  devilish  contrivances 
they  are  preparing  to  accomplish  their  warlike  projects, 
as  they  call  them ;  but,  in  truth,  their  plans  for  wholesale 
assassination. 

They  avow  that,  in  this  enterprise,  they  have  no  scru- 
ples. Taking  them  at  their  word,  we  will  state  an  under- 
taking in  which  many  of  them  would  gladly  embark. 

Some  very  foolisli  people,  having  more  m(mey  than 
brains,  have  entered  on  a  project  to  make  a  tunnel  under 
the  channel  between  England  and  France.  The  only 
reason  for  making  it,  is,  that  some  squeamish  people,  in 


169 


111 


crossing  the  cliiiTinel,  suffer  two  or  three  hours'  seasick- 
ness. 

As  yet,  the  miinVtrv,  taking  good  military  counsel, 
faintly  refuse  their  assent.  But  Barhiroxsa^  and  some 
other  dynamite  Irish  patriots,  hope  that  the  ministry  may 
ultimately  yield  their  assent  to  the  project.  Then  these 
patrons  of  dynamite  war  will  have  the  progress  of  the 
tunnel  closely  watched  ;  will  ascertain  the  points  at  which 
the  ceiling  of  the  tunnel  is  thinnest ;  that  is,  the  jjoints 
of  least  resistance. 

As  soon  as  the  tunnel  is  tinislied  and  in  use,  Barha- 
rossa,  the  general  of  the  dynamite  army,  will  send  some 
of  his  most  trusty  followers  to  P^rance.  There  they  will 
send  off  to  England,  by  the  tunnel,  two  or  three  trunks 
full  of  dynamite,  with  an  exploding  clock  in  each,  well- 
timed  to  explode  the  dynamite  at  or  near  a  point  where 
the  superincumbent  mass  of  earth  and  water  is  lightest ; 
so  tiiat,  the  roof  of  the  tunnel  being  blown  off,  the  sea- 
water  may  rush  in,  and  fill  it  from  Calais  to  Dover. 

Should  there  be  a  few  car-loads  of  Englisii  in  the  tun- 
nel, just  tiien,  so  much  the  better.  This  will  be,  perhaps, 
the  first  of  many  great  dynamite  victories,  while  the  vic- 
tors keep  themselves  safe  under  the  protection  of  the 
United  States ;  for  this  army  never  goes  out  to  battle, 
but  figlits  only  with  its  forlorn  hope.  Should  there 
chance  to  be,  also,  a  few  car-loads  of  French  in  the  tun- 
nel, at  the  time  of  the  explosion,  it  is  but  the  chance  of 
war. 

When  it  was  first  said  that  tite  ThiKji^  of  India  were  a 
religious  sect,  the  world  was  loath  to  believe  in  this  amal- 
gamation of  devotion  and  murder.  It  can  no  longer  be 
doubted.  The  patriots  of  this  day  have  embraced  Thug- 
gee,  the  most  sacred  rite  of  which  is  secret  assassination. 


I     i 

; 


170 

When  one  of  tlicni  is  convicted  of  cole])rating  this  sacra- 
ment, he  at  once  becomes  a  martyr  and  a  saint  to  his 
comrades. 


L. 


I  WILL  here  give  to  those  visionary  pliilosophers,  who 
would  reform  the  world  by  making  radical  revolutions  in 
all  governments,  the  real  obstacle  to  the  success  of  their 
theories. 

When  we  have  ascertained,  by  sad  experience,  man's 
true  nature  and  character,  the  crooked  and  deceptive  arts 
by  which  they  seek  their  ends ;  we  must  perceive  that 
their  essentially  corrupt  and  unreliable  nature  renders  it 
impossible  that  the  officials  of  any  government  can  be 
honest  enough  to  be  safely  ti-usted  with  such  extraordi- 
nary power  and  patronage,  as  is  needed  to  enal)le  the  State 
to  do  for  the  community,  anything  that  people  can  do  for 
themselves?.  This  is  especially  true  in  governments  based 
on  universal  manhood  suffrage,  in  which  demagogues 
take  the  place  of  statesmen.  It  is  not  that  there  is  no 
truth  or  honesty  among  men.  But  these  are  very  unob- 
trusive qualities,  thrust  aside  by  their  obtrusive  imita- 
tions. The  true  and  pure  "  Una "  of  tlie  poet  is  over- 
looked and  neglected,  while  the  false  and  artful  Duessa 
usurps  her  place. 

For  a  certain  amount  of  shallowness,  a  large  amount  of 
plausibility,  and  an  absence  of  scruples,  are  needed  to 
make  an  eminently  successful  leader  of  ])opnlar  opinion. 
These  are  the  qualities  to  help  men  into  office,  in  democ- 
racies. And  while  the  peoj^le  think  that  these  men  are 
zealously  serving  their  aims,  they  are  simply  seeking  their 
own  ends,  and  providing  for  themselves.     That  this  is  the 


171 


tof 

|i  to 

ion. 

lOC- 

are 

heir 

the 


result  of  goveniinont  by  universal  suffrapje,  a  few  noto- 
rious examples  will  serve  to  prove. 

Louis  Napoleon  Uonaparte,  in  his  early  youth,  was 
Bornethi'i*;  more  than  a  democrat ;  indeed,  utterly  radical 
and  revolutionary  in  liis  political  demonstrations.  In  the 
south  of  Italy  he  mixed  himself  uj)  with  the  most  social- 
istic secret  societies,  which  aimed  at  overturning  every 
estai)lished  institution  of  civil  life.  Later  in  life,  after 
some  years  of  dissolute  and  bohemian  livin<!^  in  England, 
his  ambition  was  awakened  to  the  extravagant  design  of 
restoring  the  Empire  in  France. 

Napoleon  tlie  First  affords  the  most  striking  exam])le, 
since  Mohammed,  of  man-worship  by  his  fellow  men. 
His  name  was  still  a  word  of  magic  power  to  rouse  and 
bewilder  the  French  nation.  His  reputed  nephew — some 
lovers  of  scandal  assert  that  he  had  not  one  drop  of  Corsi- 
can  blood  in  his  veins;  if  ambition  and  duplicity  can 
prove  kindred,  he  was  doubtless  the  true  nephew  of 
^^Moti  Ouch'''' \  however,  lie  used  this  magic  name  with 
great  confidence  and  skill,  winning  many  secret  adherents 
among  the  discontented,  especially  in  the  army.  The 
former  greatness  of  France  under  the  Empire  tempted 
many  to  listen  to  his  overtures ;  and  having  prepared  the 
way  by  conspiracies,  he  made  two  expeditions  to  France  to 
bring  about  a  revolution,  by  a  revolt  of  the  army.  In 
the  last  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Government.  The 
cautious  king,  Louis  P]dUippt\  merely  locked  him  np  in 
the  old  fortress  of  llam.  He  had  the  luck,  or  the  art,  to 
escape  from  prison,  and  from  France,  and  back  to  Eng- 
land, whose  free  constitutional  government  he  loved  so 
dearly. 

The  heart  of  the  French   nation  was  not  just  then 
sailing  on  the  imperial  tack,  but  the  other  way  j  and  sud- 


1 


• 


172 


denlj  a  violent  democratic  revolution  overthrew  the  royal 
government,  and  every  Frenchman  bot^ame  a  repuljlican. 
Louis  Nai)oIeon  hurried  back  to  France,  and  was  at  once 
the  most  entiiu-siastic  democrat  on  her  noil.  Availing 
himself  skillfully  of  that  word  of  magic  power,  he  became 
u  candidate  for  the  post  of  President  of  the  Republic, 
was  elected,  and  for  two  years  Llberte,  K<jal%te  et 
FratevniUi,  was  his  avowed  creed. 

Xo  one  knows  all  the  intrigues  he  carried  on  in  these 
two  years,  for  he  was  skillful  in  covering  his  tracks  while 
sounding  the  army,  especially  the  officers  of  rank,  and 
others  wlio  had  bright  visions  of  France,  glorious  under 
the  Empire.  When  liis  preparations  were  complete,  and 
he  had  collected  a  large  body  of  corrupted  troops  around 
Paris,  he  made  his  Couj)  cVetat^  and  arrested  at  midnight 
such  Field  Marshals  and  Generals  as  he  had  discovered 
were  true  to  the  Republic.  When,  the  next  day,  the 
people  assembled  in  crowds  to  learn  why  the  most 
eminent  soldiers  and  patriots  had  been  cast  into  prison, 
Louis  Napoleon  forgot  his  Fraternite  and  made  his  troops 
fire  upon  his  republican  brothers.  Putting  down  the 
people,  lie  proclaimed  himself  Napoleon  the  Third,  Em- 
peror of  the  French. 

When  he  had  reorganized  the  civil  service  and  tutored 
the  officials  from  La  Manche  to  the  Pyrenees,- he  ordered 
a  plehescite^  a  vote  by  universal  manhood  suffrage,  to  be 
taken  as  to  his  assuniption  of  the  imperial  crown.  The 
self-appointed  Emperor  had  great  skill  in  wielding  this 
formidable  weapon,  the  plebeseite.  Under  tlie  vigilant 
eyes  and  skillful  guidance  of  his  tutored  officials,  out  of 
eight  millions  of  adult  Frenchmen,  but  half  a  million 
dared  to  condemn  his  treasonable  overthrow  of  the  Re- 
public, and  usurpation  of  the  crown  by  military  violence. 


173 


ored 
ered 
0  be 
The 
this 
lant 
it  of 
Hon 
Re- 
nce. 


Seven  and  a  lialf  millions  indorsed  his  assassination,  in  a 
dark  niidniglit  iionr,  of  their  beloved  Uopubli'j,  and  his 
usurpation  of  inipi'iial  power.  Tiiis  proves  the  wonder- 
ful genius  of  the  French  for  instantly  organizing  them- 
selves for  good  or  evil. 

What  seems  more  strange  to  me,  their  neighbors,  the 
moral,  liberty-loving  English,  from  the  Queen  to  the 
plowman,  after  this  manifestation  of  his  true  character, 
received  him  witli  marked  favor  and  approbation.  In- 
deed, according  to  the  theory  that  government  should  be 
based  on  universal  manhood  suffrage,  Napoleon  had 
become,  by  the  plehisclte  which  he  manij)ulated  after  Iiis 
Coup  (Tetat^  the  most  legitimate  ruler  that  ever  came 
into  power.  We  have  Abraham  Lincoln's  assurance, 
that  any  people  have  a  right  to  change  their  government 
at  any  time.  This  shows  the  worth  of  universal  suffrage 
in  France.  Tiianks,  however,  to  the  newly  organized 
German  Empire,  the  French  are  once  again  republicans, 
and  half  of  tliem  at  least  red  republicans. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  are  as  much  devoted 
to  universal  manhood  suffrnge  as  the  French,  perhaps 
more  so.  Nor  do  they  object  to  an  occasinal  coup  (Tetat. 
A  few  years  ago,  an  eminent  and  able  num  of  excellent 
character  was  elected  President,  at  least  he  received  the 
greatest  part  of  the  votes.  But  the  leaders  of  the  people 
then  in  office,  representing  a  party  which  had  been  six- 
teen years  in  power,  thus  giving  them  time  to  make  their 
fortunes  by  peculations  on  the  public  purse,  dreaded  the 
access  to  office  of  a  man  who  had  lately  proved  himself  a 
detector  of  corruption,  and  a  reformer  of  abuses. 

They  raised  an  immense  amount  of  money  from  official 
and  private  sources,  for   they  had  filled   their  pockets 
while  so  long  in  power.     This  money  they  employed  in 
9 


m 


■T" 


174 


I  i 


i 


procuring  a  false  return  from  the  managers  of  the  result 
of  the  election.  They  artfully  falsified  the  plebiscite. 
Anything  was  better  than  have  their  doings  examined 
into,  while  they  had  been  serving  the  people  and  provid- 
ing for  themselves. 

It  is  needless  to  go  into  details,  now  pretty  well  known, 
BpS  to  how  they  managed  their  game.  For  according  to 
the  politician's  code  of  morals,  politics  is  a  game  which 
skillful  players  make  profitable. 

The  truly  elected  President  was  adroitly  shut  out  of 
office,  and  his  defeated  opponent  put  in  his  place.  At 
the  end  of  four  years  another  election  for  President  wao 
at  hand.  Tiie  party  having  been  now  twenty  years  in 
oftice  and  power,  had  learned  nmch,  and  made  much 
profit  in  that  time.  It  would  not  do  to  play  exactly  the 
same  game  over  again.  They  now  managed  matters 
more  skillfully.  They  used  plenty  of  money  in  buying 
up  i\\Q plehivcite^  and  I  believe  succeeded;  but  they  first 
made  sure  that  their  candidate,  besides  ability,  should 
have  a  due  amount  of  corruptibility  for  their  purposes. 

But  unluckily  for  them  their  well-chosen  tool  was 
a::sassinated,  cut  off  by  a  crazy  political  fanatic,  before 
they  had  made  full  use  of  him.  To  keep  up  the  farce 
and  cover  the  uses  they  had  made  of  him,  the  party  tried 
to  make  a  saint  of  him  in  the  face  of  some  damning  facts 
of  corruption,  not  of  late  occurrance,  which  stood  in  the 
way  of  his  canonization.  But  soine  untimely  and  un- 
expected revelations  came  out  later,  fully  exposing  his 
corrupt,  designing,  and  unscrupulous  character. 

These,  and  a  multitude  of  similar  historical  facts,  show 
that  universal  suffrage  is  far  less  calculated  to  give  office 
to  trustworthy  patriots  and  statesmen,  than  to  artful  and 
unscrupulous  demagogues,  who  have  the  knack  of  im- 


w 


175 


;fore 
"arce 

riod 
facts 
II  the 

un- 
liis 


posing  themselves  on  the  populace,  to  gain  their  own 
corrupt  ends. 

In  the  United  States,  under  the  influence  of  universal 
suffrage,  as  the  source  of  all  political  power,  the  character 
p.nd  morals  of  politicians  have  grown  steadily  worse  and 
worse,  from  1781)  to  this  day.  If  any  government  could 
possibly  succeed  in  confiscating  the  land,  or  the  net  profits 
earned  from  it,  that  is  the  rent,  nominally  for  the  benefit 
of  every  man  in  the  community  (see  Progress  and  Pover- 
ty)^ it  must  of  course  be  a  thoroughly  radical  democratic 
State,  with  all,  in  theory,  in  the  hands  of  the  multitude ; 
but  in  fact  in  that  of  the  demagogues  who  profess  to  act 
for  the  people,  but  are  really  serving  only  themselves  and 
their  partisans,  for  whom  they  create  ofiices.  Little  good 
would  the  multitude  get  out  of  this  wholesale  confiscation 
of  landed  p>roperty.  To  satisfy  these  millions  of  greedy 
claimants,  all  the  acquisitions  and  accumulations,  resulting 
from  the  industry,  skill,  and  economy  of  private  persons, 
would  have  to  be  divided  among  them.  What  a  splendid 
result  would  tiiis  be,  from  the  progress  of  civilization 
and  political  wisdom  ! 

Political  corruption  is  bad  enoug.i.  But  perhaps  it  is 
not  the  worst  symptom  spreading  o^^er  the  United  States. 
There  is  one  growing  rapidly,  which  comes  home  to  men's 
bosoms  and  their  families.  In  mnst  of  the  States  of  the 
Union  tliere  has  been  in  this  generation  a  great  relaxa- 
tion of  the  l)inding  nature  of  the  marriage  contract. 
And  it  has  been  followed  by  an  even  disproportioned 
multiplication  of  divorces. 

The  most  frivolous  causes  seem  to  suffice  for  dissolving 
a  marriage.  While,  in  fact,  wherevcv*  it  is  most  difficult 
to  obtain  a  divorce,  there  the  fewer  married  people  seek 
or  desire  one. 


^il 


►if-^ 


I  I 


I 


176 


This  facility  of  divorce,  and  the  frequency  of  them, 
besides  demoralizing  the  whole  people ;  is  particularly 
destructive  to  the  training,  morals,  character,  and  happi- 
ness of  the  offspring  of  the  divorced  couples.  Society 
and  social  life  are  founded  on  the  fatnily,  and  this 
foundation  seems  to  be  rotting  away.  Nothing  can  re- 
place it. 


LI. 


Do  NATIONS  deteriorate  i  Perhaps  they  do.  Nations 
may  become  corrupted  and  degraded.  But,  judging  by 
the  light  of  history,  the  chief  cause  producing  a  radical, 
permanent,  incurable  deterioration  of  national  character 
has  been  tlie  intermixture  with  inferior  races.  The 
Greeks,  in  their  later  history,  certainly  declined  h. 
national  character,  after  the  conquests  of  Alexander  a; ' 
his  successors  had  mingled  them  with  other  races  of 
western  Asia  and  eastern  Africa. 

Tlie  original  characteristics  of  the  Eomans  seem  to 
have  been  very  much  altered  after  their  wide  conquests. 
These  conquests  introduced  a  crowd  of  people  of  various 
races  into  Italy,  both  as  freemen  and  slaves.  That  and 
subsequent  immigrations  greatly  altered  the  character  of 
the  people  of  Italy. 

The  Saracens,  in  their  wide  conquests,  intermixed 
tiiemselves  with  inferior  races  more  effectually  than  the 
Greeks  and  the  Romans.  The  practice  of  polygamy  and 
their  eagerness  to  make  converts  to  tlieir  faith  promoted 
this  intermixture.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
race  of  the  Arabs  is  much  deteriorated,  by  polygamy 
especially,  even  in  Arabia.  The  same  remark  applies  to 
the  Turks,  but  they  mingled  themselves  chiefly  with  bet- 


177 


mixed 
in  the 
y  and 
moted 
at  the 


ter  races.  Both  Turks  and  Saracens  showed  great  disre- 
gard to  race.  As  Lord  Bacon  remarivs  of  tlie  Turks, 
they  had  no  vahie  for  stu'j>s  m  marriage. 

Wliert  purity  of  i-ace  is  not  vahied  it  is  vain  to  look 
for  the  permanent  maintenance  of  native  character  and 
traits.  Tlie  iiitroduction  of  inferior  races  into  a  country 
will  affect  its  institutions  and  its  social  condition. 

The  preseilce  of  sev^eral  millions  of  manumitted 
negroes  in  the  Soutliern  States  of  the  Union  greatly 
affects  their  political,  industrial,  and  social  condition. 
Something  like  this  would  he  the  effect,  in  time,  should 
there  he  a  great  influx  from  over-peopled  (^hina  into  the 
United  States  by  the  convenient  ports  on  the  Pacific 
coast.  In  the  case  of  tlie  negro  and  the  Chinese,  their 
presence  seems  to  tend  little  to  bring  about  a  mixture  of 
blood.  But,  industrially  and  politically,  their  ])resence 
is  an  evil  to  the  country. 

What  would  be  the  effect  uf  the  introduction  of  sev- 
eral millions  of  Chinese  into  England  i  They  are  indus- 
trious laborers,  very  saving,  even  on  low  wages.  Their 
piesence  there  would  be  disastrous  to  the  laboring 
classes.  They  would  under-live  them,  and  lower  their 
condition.  The  great  intlux  even  of  Irish  into  England 
has  had  that  tendency  there.  For  they  are  content  to 
live  on  cheaper  food,  and  with  fewer  household  comforts, 
than  the  English  laborer. 

It  is  a  great  evil  to  nations  of  the  better  races  to  be 
pitted  in  the  struggle  for  the  means  of  living,  against 
races  which,  from  their  low  estimate  of  what  is  needed 
for  decent  and  comfortable  living,  can  sui)))lant  a  higher 
race  by  under-working  and  under-living  them.  The 
negroes  are  the  least  evil;  for  they  would  almost  rather 
starve  than  work,  at  least  persistently.     But  the  Chinese 


I 

■ 


Vi 


■ 


178 


are  very  industrious  and  economical,  and  can  starve  out 
any  white  race  of  laborers. 

I  have  said  that  States  have  no  right  to  prohibit  em- 
migration.  That  is  an  infringement  on  natural  liberty. 
But  a  nation  of  one  race  has  a  perfect  right  to  prohibit 
the  immigration  of  inferior  races.  For  such  an  influx 
does  tliem  a  most  serious  and  permanent  injury.  One  of 
the  first  duties  of  a  people  is  to  preserve*  the  purity  of 
their  race.  Races  7nalc^  institutions.  Yon  cannot  trans- 
fer the  institutions  of  one  race  to  another,  they  will  not 
work  well  there ;  not  even  from  the  Teuton  to  the  Celt, 
much  as  they  may  seem  to  resemble  each  other.  A  dis- 
regard to  race  and  descent  is  a  gross  error. 

Is  there  such  a  thing  as  patriotism  ?  JudgiTig  from 
men's  words  rather  than  their  conduct,  there  doubtless  is. 
Yet  difl^erent  men  have  ',  ery  different  ideas  of  patriotism, 
and  would  define  it  very  discordantly.  With  many  it  is 
but  a  name  for  local  attachment.  Many  an  Englishman 
limits  his,  at  heart,  to  his  village,  his  town,  or  a  particular 
street  in  his  city.  Many  a  rustic  Scotchman,  to  his 
moor.  Many  an  Irishman  to  his  potato  patch,  and  the 
bog  which  yields  his  turf.  Many  a  Bedouin  Arab  to  his 
desert,  including  the  little  oasis  wliere  he  pitches  his 
tent,  while  a  few  date  palms  are  rij^ening  their  fruit  over 
his  head.  Each  of  these  men  locates  his  patriotism  at 
that  spot  where  his  interests  and  habits  have  found  a 
home. 

Some  men  of  ivithci  more  enlarged  ideas  will  tell  you 
that  their  patriotism  cleaves  to  the  institutions  of  their 
country.  But  in  this  revolutionary  age  the  institutions 
of  many  countries  are  undergoing  such  rapid  changes, 
that  the  patriotism  ef  but  ten  years  ago  must  fii  d  a  new 
obj'^ct  to  cleave  to  to-day. 


179 


out 


10118 

iges, 
new 


Some  men  may  say  that  their  patriotism  binds  them  to 
their  race — deriving  patriotism,  not  from  pafria,  but 
going  further  back,  to  pater  ;  their  patriotism  cleaving 
exclusively  to  the  race  from  which  they  sprung ;  whether 
it  be  a  nomadic  tribe  wandering  incessantly  in  the  wilds 
of  Tartary,  or  Arabia,  or  the  Sahara,  or,  like  the  modem 
Jews,  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Although  no  lover  of  the  modern  Jews,  or  of  their 
characteristics — being  more  prone  to  borrow  than  to  lend, 
and  having  paid  far  more  for  the  use  of  money  than  I 
ever  received — I  can  better  understand  this  form  of 
patriotism  than  that  of  mere  locality.  Doubtless  a  man's 
tnie  native  country  is  his  race.  Nature  seems  to  have 
implanted  something  very  like  an  antipathy  between 
widely  different  races.  And  a  thorough  intermixture  of 
the  blood  of  two  or  more  races  of  widely  different  char- 
acters utterly  destroys  the  possibility  of  feeling  true 
patriotism.  Even  local  admixture  goes  far  to  produce 
that  effect.  As  to  local  ])atrioti8m,  its  chief  value  is  the 
means  it  affords  of  keeping  up  the  better  patriotism  of 
race. 

With  reference  to  this  combination  of  the  two  forms 
of  patriotistn,  the  Celtic  Irish  are  tlie  most  patriotic  of 
people.  Migration  to  another  country,  and  even  sworn 
allegiance  to  its  government,  does  not  make  the  Irishman 
less  Irish  tlian  he  was  before  he  left  Ireland.  The  dream 
of  his  waking  as  of  liis  sleeping  hours  is  still  how  to 
expel,  or  to  extirpate  from  his  country,  the  Norman  and 
Saxon  intniders  of  seven  centuries'  standing,  and  restore 
the  green  gem  of  the  ocean  to  its  earlier  settlers.  And 
yet,  strange  to  say,  in  all  their  aspirations  to  that  end, 
the,y  have  been  often  guided  and  led  by  scions  cut  from 
the  stock  of  those  foreign  intruders  \:hom  they  still  call 


m 


'«• 


If 


180 


Saxons — thu8  betraying  who  were  the  natural  rulers  of 
the  country. 

For  my  part,  I  value  the  patriotism  of  race  far  above 
those  of  locality,  or  of  eplicmeral  institutions.  In  my 
opinion  an  English  lady,  or  Seotcli,  or  German,  or  French, 
or  Irish,  makes  a  grosser  and  more  hopeless  mesalliance 
in  wedding  a  Turkish  Pasha,  a  Chinese  Mandarin,  a 
Hindoo  Rajah,  or  a  Mohawk  chief,  than  if  she  married  an 
honest  plowman  of  her  own  race  and  country.  For 
although  the  liuman  offspring  is  thought  to  take  after 
the  mother  rather  than  the  father,  in  making  that  mesal- 
liance^ she  has  spoiled  the  hreed. 


111. 


I  NEVER  could  see  on  what  solid  ground  was  based  the 
claim,  that  the  mere  fact  that  a  man  is  in  a  country, 
\vith  nothing  but  those  personal  endowments  he  received 
from  Nature,  gave  him  a  right  to  exercise  a  voice  in  the 
making  of  its  laws,  in  controlling  the  nation  there,  and 
imposing  taxes  on  the  property  of  individuals. 

A  primitive  tribe,  weak  in  numbers,  surrounded  by 
dangv  i-s,  in  constant  danger  of  extirpation  by  more 
powp  ful  neighboi'S,  and  needing-  the  aid  of  the  armed 
hand  of  every  man  among  them  to  preserve,  if  possible, 
their  existence,  might  in  tlieir  emergency  liave  adopted 
such  a  polity.  But  we  know  that  they  seldom  or  never 
did,  and  certainly  never  retained  it  long.  Almost  every 
country  has'  preferred  to  be  governed,  even  when  it  be- 
came a  republic,  by  those  who  have  something  at  stake 
in  tlie  community  beyond  tlieir  mere  personal  presence 
there.    Their  interest  otherwise  is  not  obvious  and  definite 


181 


ice 
lite 


enough  to  entitle  them  to  any  influence  in  controlling  the 
affairs  of  other  people.      It   may  even   become   their 
•interest  to  mismanage  them. 

A  voter,  therefore,  should  have  a  stake  in  the  com- 
munity, to  make  him  feel  the  ill  effects  of  gross  mis- 
management of  the  public  and  private  interests  of  the. 
nation.  There  is  no  qnuliflcation  for  the  franchise  so 
easily  and  certainly  ascertdned,  as  that  which  compels 
men  to  share  the  burden  of  supporting  the  government, 
that  is,  one  which  necessarily  renders  him  liable  to  taxa- 
tion, a  property  ([ualilication.  Then,  if  those  in  office 
mismanage  tlie  affairs  of  the  public,  this  voter  with  a 
property  qualification  who  put  them  into  office,  feels  the 
effect  of  their  incapacity  or  dishonesty,  as  he  ought  to 
do.  Nothing  is  more  disgusting  in  politics  than  to  dis- 
cover, not  only  the  corrupt,  but  often  the  utterly  frivolous 
motives  which,  control  men's  votes,  where  they  have  no 
honest  interest  at  stake.* 

Pie  who  represents  the  qualified  voters  needs  no  other 
qualification  than  the  confidence  of  those  he  represents. 
They  choose  and  send  him  as  their  agent  or  attorney  to 
attend  to  tlieir  public  interests.  The  important  point  to 
the  country  at  large  is,  that  they  who  send  him  should 
have  such  a  stake  in  the  country,  that  they  can  and  ought 
to  have  a  share  in  controlling  its  counsels. 

In  the  English  House  of  Commons  (all  the  parlia- 
mentary bodies  of  this  day  are  imitations  of  the  English 
parliament)  in  early  times,  each  borough  paid  the  expenses 
of  the  member  it  sent  there.  He  was  the  agen^  or 
attorney  attending  to  tlieir  V>usiness  and  interests.  Grad- 
ually, men  ambitious  of  being  in  public  life,  gave  up 
asking  for  their  pay  as  members  of  the  House  of  Oom- 
moiii.     They  found  out  that  the  post  yielded  not  only 


? 


'i   fl 


r 


182 


honor,  but  might  be  made  to  yield  profit  also.  It  was 
good  policy  not  to  ask  to  have  their  expenses  paid 
them. 

Andrew  Marvell,  member  for  Hull,  Yorkshire,  during 
most  of  the  reign  of  (^harles  II,  a  man  of  more  scrupulous 
integrity  than  often  falls  to  the  lot  of  members  of  parlia- 
mentary bodies,  is  said  to  have  been  the  last  M.P.  whose 
expenses  were  regularly  paid  by  his  constituents. 

Since  then  parliamentary  bodies  have  sprung  up  in 
many  countries,  and  a  corrupt  practice  has  sprung  up 
witii  them.  The  representatives  of  particular  constitu- 
encies are  paid,  not  by  those  they  represent,  but  by  the 
State,  as  if  they  were  executive  or  administrative  otficers 
of  the  government,  which  they  are  not.  This  change 
has  been  exceeding  convenient  to  needy  demagogues  who 
would  thrust  tliemselves  into  public  life,  in  order  to 
obtain  more  profitable  ofiices,  under  the  guise  of  patriot- 
ism. It  has  greatly  smoothed  tl*e  path  of  many  a  needy 
patriot.  But  for  this  change  in  the  mode  of  paying 
representatives,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  could 
not  have  distinguished  themselves,  as  they  did  a  few 
years  ago,  in  nuiking  their  famous,  or  notorious,  Salary 
Grab. 

A  government  based  on  this  modern  invention,  uni- 
versal manhood  suffrage,  as  the  source  of  all  political 
power,  represented  by  their  paid  agents;  can  be  best 
likened  t'^  a  great  national  bank  to  which  every  one  in 
the  community  is  required  to  subscribe,  not  only  all  he 
has,  both  of  material  and  intellectual  accpiisitions,  but  all 
he  may  yet  acquire.  The  managers  are  to  be  appointed, 
not  by  proxies,  each  proportioned  to  the  number  of  »iiares 
each  subscriber  holds.  No,  there  are  no  proxies.  All 
the  manhood  suffrage  voters  must  attend  at  the  election 


183 


and  choose  the  managers.  When  the  day  is  at  hand  for 
declaring  a  dividend ;  these  managers  after  appropriating 
the  amount  needed  to  meet  the  expenses  of  this  institu- 
tion, expenses  made  up  of  salaries,  sundries,  almost 
numberless,  and  a  monstrous  unexplained  contingent 
fund  ;  they  then  allot  to  each  voter  an  equal  share  of 
the  dividend.  Those  who  have  contributed  large  amounts 
to  the  capital  of  the  bank,  now  see  that  they  have  been 
robbed,  both  by  the  managers  and  the  vast  majority  of 
the  voters  who  have  contributed  little,  most  of  them 
nothing,  to  the  bank  capital,  consisting  of  all  the  earnings 
and  accumulations  of  a  nation.  Under  ary  other  govern- 
ment, they  would  appeal  for  justice  to  the  courts  of  law 
and  e  iiiity.  But  in  this  case  the  multitude  of  robbers 
and  plunderers  are  at  once  the  jury,  the  court,  the  law  ! 
There  is  no  appeal !  Tiiere  is  no  justice  before  or  behind 
them  ! 

This  is  the  true  working  of  manhood  suffrage  when 
thoroughly  in  operation. 


LIII. 


We  have  said  and  labored  to  prove,  that  the  ends  for 
which  government  exists  are  two,  and  two  only.  1st. 
The  administration  of  justice  within  the  community. 
2d.  The  defense  of  the  community  and  of  the  individ- 
uals composing  it  against  external  enemies.  In  a  primi- 
tive state  of  society,  while  men  are  united  into  small 
tribes  only,  and  are  in  constant  danger  of  attacks 
from  without,  defense  against  foes  from  without  is  the 
dominent  need  for  government.  But  when  States 
come  to  unite  civilized  multitudes,  in  occupation  of  a 


14 


H  tl 


I 


*w 


184 


territory  with  extensive  and  well-defined  horderfl,  dan- 
gers from  abroad  become  remote  and  occasional ;  and 
the  administration  of  justice,  tlie  protection  of  private 
rights  from  dan^jers  frotn  witliin,  become  the  chief  nse 
and  end  of  government.  In  extensive  and  civilized 
countries  multitudes  go  from  tlieir  cradles  to  tlieir  graves 
without  ever  seeing  the  face  of  a  foriMgn  enemy,  yet 
every  day  of  their  lives  have  looked  in  the  face  of  inter- 
nal enemies,  quite  ready  to  rob  them  of  their  rights,  if 
the  obstacles  were  removed  which  government  puts  in 
their  way.  Tiie  more  the  country  thrives,  the  denser 
the  population  becomes,  the  more  these  enemies  mul- 
tiply. 

Society  is  full  of  selfisli,  grasping,  rapacious  animals  in 
the  guise  of  men.  Envy  of  the  successful  an<l  prosperous 
exercises  a  powerful  and  malignant  intiuence  over  the 
unprosperous  and  unsuccessful ;  and  even  what  is  called 
the  spirit  of  liberty  is  largely  mingled  with  a  licentious 
desire  to  be  rid  of  all  control,  and  even  to  exercise 
tyranny  over  others.  If  success  is  apt  to  engender  a 
pride  which  lea<ls  the  prosperous  to  overlook,  and  look 
down  upon  those  below  them ;  it  is  more  than  counter- 
balanced by  the  envy  and  animosity  it  excites  in  the 
hearts  of  many  of  those  on  whom  fortune  has  frowned 
instead  of  smiling. 

The  chief  use  of  government,  in  all  large  and  civilized 
States  especially,  has  now  become  the  protecting  and  se- 
curing the  private  rights  of  individuals,  from  the  attacks 
made  on  them  from  within  their  owmi  country  :  for  the 
acquisition  of  these  rights  and  the  accumulation  of  their 
results  in  the  hands  of  the  owners,  are  what  has  built  up 
the  prosperity  and  civilization  of  the  country. 

In  the  present  state  of  the  civilized  world,  the  power  to 


\i 


185 


tax  is  the  power  to  gov^erii.  The  power  to  distribute  the 
proccedfi  of  taxation  is  sometliing  more  than  the  power  to 
govern.  It  is  the  power  to  corrupt !  And  may  be  used 
for  that  end,  and  with  fatal  effect.  A  strong  effort  is 
being  made  ])y  a  class  of  persons,  who  seem  not  to  be  few 
in  number,  or  without  influence,  to  pervert  governments 
themselves,  into  the  agencies  to  produce  this  ruinous  effect. 

Hut  wliat  tncn  need  in  govei-nment,  is  a  stable,  ])erma- 
nent,  and  relial)!e,  protector  to  their  natural  and  acquired 
rights ;  especially  the  last,  which  are  the  most  exposed  to 
danger.  Such  a  protector  is  utterly  incompatible  with 
the  teachings  of  the  so-called  poet  Walt  Whitman;  whose 
doctrine  is,  that  the  great  right  and  duty  of  mankind  is 
the  devising,  and  practice  of  revolution. 

If  we  wished  to  pervert  the  institution  calle<l  govern- 
ment into  the  verv  best  means  of  defeatinfj  the  etids  for 
wliich  it  came  into  existence,  without  betraying  our 
design,  how  would  we  proceed^  We  would  mal<e  univer- 
sal manhood  suffrage  the  exclusive  source  of  all  political 
power,  and  adopt  as  the  end  aimed  at :  ^'  The  greatest  good 
of  the  greatest  number."  We  need  do  no  more.  At  once, 
as  this  institution  cannot  exercise  its  own  functions, 
thousands  of  aspiring  spirits,  gre(;dy  for  place  and  power, 
start  lip  all  over  the  country,  and  exercise  themselves,  in, 
what  has  been  well  named,  that  fraudulent  art,  oratori/^ 
persuading  the  muUitU'le  that  they,  these  orators,  are  the 
men,  who  will  most  zealously  seek  the  greatest  good  of 
the  greatest  nund)er ;  and  tliatthe  rival  haranguers,  are 
not  the  right  men  for  the  people's  purpose. 

Man  has  been  called  a  reasoning  animal,  because  he 
sometimes  does  reason.  But,  a  multitude  never  reasons. 
Its  passions,  its  prejutlices,  its  animosities,  and  its  hopes, 
are  easily  ronsed.     The  most  artful  harariguer  wins  their 


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II  I  i 


favor ;  and  places  of  trust  and  power,  are  tilled,  not  by 
statesmen,  but  demagogues.  For  the  talents  that  best 
serve  to  win  office,  are  very  different  from  those  which 
can  nil  it,  and  fulfill  its  duties  best.  Many  of  these  suc- 
cessful aspirants  for  popular  favor,  are  doubtless  men  of 
abilities,  to  serve  their  own  purposes.  But  they  must 
redeem  their  pledge  :  "  Do  the  greatest  good  to  the 
greatest  number."  The  country  is  rich,  with  great  re- 
sources, unfortunately  in  the  hands  of  a  comparatively 
few.  They  do  not  stop  to  inquire  how  that  came  to  pass. 
These  resources  of  the  country,  common  to  all,  must 
benefit  all.  They  must  clothe,  feed,  house,  educate  the 
nation.  These  demagogue  statesmen  must  indent  modes 
of  distributing  the  bounties  of  Nature,  not  forgetting  to 
provide  for  themselves,  and  their  personal  partisans.  If 
they  have  few  of  the  latter,  they  must  win  more  by  aid 
of  government  patronage.  Unluckily  they  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  get  beyond  that  point.  Partisans  are  so  numerous 
and  so  greedy,  that  the  resources  of  the  country  already 
begin  to  fail  under  their  exactions.  More  must  be 
exacted  from  the  producing  classes,  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  do  not,  will  not,  or  cannot  produce.  The  country 
is  on  the  verge  of  a  crisis,  and  shows  unexpected  symp- 
toms of  a  decay  of  prosperity  and  resources.  They  cannot 
see  the  true  reason.  It  is  suffering  from  misgovernment, 
on  utterly  false  principles.  You  only  need  to  continue 
this  policy,  to  ruin  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  degrade 
its  civilization,  and  sap  the  very  idea  of  property  and 
honesty. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  resources  of  every  civilized 
country,  at  least,  are  the  result  of  the  industry,  skill,  and 
economy  of  individuals,  and  of  right  must  remain  in  their 
hands.     Moreover,  the  very  possession  of  these  resources, 


187 


ought  to  give  them  so  much  influence  and  control  over 
the  government,  as  to  enable  them  to  prevent  its  entering 
on  any  policy,  leading  to  their  ruin,  which  involves  that 
of  the  community.  The  principle  of  representation,  in 
a  representative  State,  must  embrace  that  much  at  least, 
as  to  acquired  and  vested  rights. 

Let  us  take  the  United  States  as  an  example  of  a  Gov- 
ernment founded  on  certain  theories  as  to  political  organi- 
zation. It  would  require  the  jDrofoundest  ignorance,  or 
the  height  of  hypocrisy  in  any  man,  to  enable  him  to 
assert  that  the  Government  that  now  exists  there  is  the 
same  that  was  founded  by  the  thirteen  States,  in  1789, 
when  they  made  that  treaty  with  each  other,  wliicli  is 
known  as  "  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States."  Since 
then,  democracy  has  utterly  changed  its  nature,  and  per- 
verted most  of  the  principles  of  confederation  and  repub- 
licanism involved  in  it.  Xow,  practically,  it  is  impossible 
to  say  what  are  the  powers  of  tlie  Federal  Government,  or 
what  are  the  limits  to  its  jiowers.  Let  any  impartial  man, 
sit  down,  and  read  the  Constitution  as  it  was  adopted  in 
1789,  and  compare  that  treaty  between  the  thirteen  States, 
with  the  centralized  Government  that  now  exists  in  its 
place.  It  would  be  too  much  to  ask  of  him,  to  trace  the 
numberless  steps  by  wliicli  this  revolution  has  been 
achieved.  It  has  become  a  paternal  Government,  aiming 
to  do  for  the  people  all  that  they  should  do  for  them- 
selves. 

Tlie  United  States  Government  originated  in,  andivas 
based  on,  confederation,  not  on  universal  suffrage.  The 
latter  was  an  afterthought,  .springing  tip  rapidly,  over- 
growing,  smothering,  and  is  now  blotting  out  the  confed- 
eration. 


If 


11.;'  1 

'1  . 


188 


LIY. 


I 


As  TO  the  usurpation  of  duties  by  the  State,  I  will^ 
give  an  illustration.  One  modern  and  very  conspicuous 
charity,  originating  solely  from,  and  still  supported  by 
private  benevolence,  escaped  by  its  peculiar  nature,  the 
usurping  patronage  of  the  State.  I  refer  to  the  life-boats, 
and  life-saving  service  which  watches  over  the  crews  of 
vessels  in  distress  on  the  British  coast.  Perhaps  tlie  fact 
that  it  ajffords  no  patronage  to  those  in  office  sheltered  it 
from  their  propensity  to  meddle  with  every  charity.  It 
has  escaped  that  dangerous  incubus  of  State  patronage 
and  control ;  and  survives  in  its  natural  condition  of  a 
spontaneous  combination  of  the  benevolence  of  individ- 
uals, to  exhibit  the  provident  arrangements  of  Nature  for 
such  ends,  and  the  needless  and  mischievous  effects  of 
State  intermeddling  beyond  the  sphere  of  its  duties. 

Private  benevolence  suggested  this  charity.  Private 
beneficence  still  pays  the  cost  of  it ;  and  heroic  private 
beneficence  carries  it  into  effective  operation.  For,  al- 
though the  crews  of  life-boats  are,  to  some  extent,  paid 
for  their  services,  being  laboring  men,  fishermen,  pilots, 
and  others,  earning  a  living  by  some  other  boating  service ; 
they  are  paid  only  for  their  occasional  exertions  in  the 
life-boats,  while  practising  as  a  crew,  or  actually  assisting 
a  vessel  in  distress.  But*a  great  many  of  these  men 
have  lost  tlieir  lives  in  this  hazardous  employment.  It  is 
so  little  tempting  or  profitable,  that  perhaps  not  one  of 
them  ever  embarked  in  it  with  a  view  to  profit.  We 
must  attribute  to  them  no  small  amount  of  zeal  to  save 
life,  even  at  tiie  hazard  of  their  own. 

This  life-saving  service  is  a  conspicuous  illustration  of 
what  private  benevolence  in  voluntary  combination,  can 


189 


do  in  various  directions  for  the  relief  of  human  needs  and 
wants,  for  tlie  mitigation  of  destitution  and  suffering,  •'^or 
the  instruction  of  the  ignorant,  and  for  most  other  ills  in 
society,  without  any  usurping,  intermeddling,  and  control 
over  private  charities,  on  the  part  of  the  State. 

The  State  will  best  serve  the  purposes  of  humanity,  not 
by  founding  its  own  institutions  for  the  relief  of  chronic 
or  even  casual  evils,  and  providing  for  their  support  by 
taxation,  thus  making  people  charitable  by  act  of  parlia- 
ment ;  but  by  simply  facilitating  the  combination  of  pri- 
vate charity,  by  incorporating  these  associations,  and 
legalizing  their  action  when  applied  to  for  that  purpose. 
I  am  convinced  that  even  the  care  and  management  of  the 
most  difficult  evil  in  society,  the  case  of  the  insane,  could 
be  so  provided  for. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  attempt,  on  the  part 
of  the  State,  to  do  certain  kinds  of  good,  prevents  much 
of  the  good  of  those  kinds,  which  would  have  been  done 
by  private  charity.  It  largely  uses  up,  by  taxation  and 
misappropriation,  the  means  that  would  have  l)een  at  the 
command  of  private  benevolence,  and  discourages  the 
exercise  of  it.  Government  exists  only  for  the  preven- 
tion of  actual  evil,  not  to  originate  direct  and  positive 
good.  Its  duties  are  negative.  It  is  a  costly  and  bur- 
densome institution  at  the  best ;  and  becomes  more  burden- 
some with  every  new  duty  it  assumes,  and  with  every 
additional  power  it  usurps,  beyond  its  primitive  duties  of 
administering  justice,  and  defending  the  community, 
which  two  duties  the  State  alone  can  perform. 

History  affords  many  striking  examples,  by  the  suc- 
cessful performance  of  these  two  duties,  by  the  State, 
under  very  adverse  circumstances,  indicating  that  they 
are  the  sole  duties  Nature  intended  the  State  to  fulfill  for 
the  community  under  its  protection. 


190 


As  to  national  defense.  Governments,  when  once  well 
established,  have  seldom  failed,  in  time  of  war,  to  call  out 
the  strength  and  resources  of  the  nation  ;  and  to  find 
courageous,  patriotic,  and  faithful  leaders  of  their  forces 
raised  to  defend  the  country. 

Not  to  nmltiply  examples  :  A  few  small  and  divided 
States,  in  Greece,  often  at  war  with  each  other,  for  once 
uniting  tlieir  arms,  succeeded  in  resisting  and  defeating 
the  seemingly  overwhelming  and  irresistible  forces  of  the 
Persian  Empire.  And,  in  far  later  times,  the  barren, 
sparsel}'  peopled  kingdom  of  Scotland,  habitually  much 
divided,  and  at  war  within  itself ;  repeatedly  foiled  the 
efforts  at  conquest,  made  by  her  far  richer,  more  populous, 
united,  and  powerful  neighbor,  close  on  I  er  border.  We 
may  observe  liere  tliat  States  are  seldom  jealous  of  their 
prerogative,  their  exclusive  right  to  defend  the  country. 
When  hard  pressed,  they  gladly  receive  the  aid  of  those  of 
the  community,  or  from  elsewhere,  who  not  being  em- 
bodied in  the  regular  levies,  voluntarily  take  arms  as 
partisan  co/ps,  to  resist  and  harass  the  enemy ;  and  also 
the  aid  of  privateers,  under  letters  of  marque^  seeking 
to  cripple  their  commercial  resources. 

As  to  the  matter  of  the  administration  of  justice. 
We  find,  to  our  surprise,  that  even  under  so  corrupt, 
effete,  and  declining  a  government  as  that  of  the  Roman 
Empire ;  long  after  the  palmy  days  of  Koman  vigor  and 
greatness  had  passed  away,  the  science  of  jurisprudence 
was  more  assiduously  cultivated  than  it  ever  had  been  in 
the  history  of  man. 

Steadily,  for  centuries,  under  a  corrupt  and  despotic 
goveiTiment,  experiencing  frequent  and  sudden  changes 
of  its  rulers,  by  military  sedition  and  violence,  there  grew 
up  a  code  of  laws,  which,  while  it  did  not  protect  the 


191 


langes 


people  against  the  State ;  or  secure  their  liberties  against 
political  or  military  tyranny  ;  jet  all  those  who  have 
mastered  its  provisions,  unite  in  declaring  that,  in  the 
protection  it  affords  to  private  riglits  against  the  aggres- 
sions of  private  persons,  it  far  surpasses  any  human  code  ; 
approaching  near  to  a  perfect  system  of  ethics.  And  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that,  even  in  those  troubled  and 
corrupt  ages,  it  was  usually  fairly  administered  in  the 
courts  of  the  Empire.  This  "  Roman  Civil  Law,"  the 
code  of  Justinian,  is  to  this  day  the  basis  of  the  civil  law 
of  the  wliole  of  Western  Europe,  except  England. 

To  give  another  example  of  the  natural  tendency  of  a 
government  to  fulfill  the  great  duty  of  administering 
justice  between  the  people  under  its  rule.  Under  the 
corrupt  and  tyrannical  government  of  France,  under  the 
Old  Refjime^  the  redeeming  page  of  its  liistory,  the 
brightest  star  that  shone  on  the  progress  of  the  nation, 
was  seen  in  the  administration  of  justice  in  civil  suits — in 
the  learning  and  purity  of  the  twhleme  ile  la  robe.  For 
the  provincial  parlements,  by  a  gradual  evolution,  liad 
become  the  high  courts  of  justice.  They  retained  their 
independence  and  patriotism  as  courts  of  law,  in  astonish- 
ing purity,  in  spite  of  the  national  corruption  around 
them.  Xo  country  excelled  France  in  the  learning, 
wisdom,  and  integrity  of  its  judges.  The  basis  of  the 
French  code  was  this  same  Code  of  Jitf^t'inian. 

Yet  strange  to  say,  most  of  these  men  entered  on  their 
professional  career,  by  the  purchase  of  an  office,  or  seat 
in  the  courts.  The  noblesse  de  la  robe  seem  to  have  been 
a  very  peculiar  body — consisting  of  families  which  had 
for  generations  devoted  themselves  to  the  law — each  one 
giving  no  small  part  of  his  patrimony  to  the  cost  of  an 
elaborate  education,  and  perhaps  most  of  the  remainder 


.M 


■^ 


192 


to  the  purchase  of  the  post  of  a  counsellor  of  parleinent — 
which  enabled  him  to  practise  the  profession.  Profes- 
sional and  family  pride  seem  usually  to  have  mounted 
guard  over  their  integrity. 

To  my  mind,  the  success  of  the  combined  benevolence  of 
individuals  in  the  life-saving  service  ;  and  the  unexpected 
success  of  feeble  nations  in  national  defense,  and  of  corrupt 
States  in  the  administration  of  justice — are  broad  liints, 
given  by  provident  Nature,  to  States,  to  devote  themselves 
exclusively  to  these  two  last  duties,  and  to  let  charities 
and  other  matters  alone — as  out  of  their  sphere. 


LY. 


When  we  listen  to  the  theories  of  a  host  of  political 
philosophers  of  this  enlightened  age ;  and  hear  from  them 
what  social  and  political  reforms,  or  rather  revolutions, 
are  strongly  urged  upon  us,  as  essential  to  the  welfare, 
progress,  nay,  the  preservation  of  society ;  we  are  tempted 
to  think  the  t.  orld  is  just  waking  up  out  of  primitive 
barbarism. 

But  on  looking  back  on  past  ages — for  we  have  the 
means  of  so  doing — on  a  careful  survey  of  the  past,  and 
comparing  it  with  the  present ;  the  iirst  thing  that  strikes 
us  is,  that  man  was  then  pretty  much  what  he  is 
now,  but  with  vast  changes  in  his  habits  and  opinions,  in 
some  countries.  The  next  thing  is,  that  men,  strongly 
influenced  by  the  first  government  they  knew,  the  patri- 
archal rule,  made  the  most  strenuous  efforts  to  extend  its 
application.  Even  after  they  had  tried  such  other  forms 
of  government  as  accidental  circumstances  suggested; 
they  soon  found  that  the  greatest  and  most  frequent 
source  of  commotion,  tumult,  violence,  and  crime,  dis- 


193 


tracting  and  breakiug  up  the  cotnmunity — was  the  fierce 
and  unscrupulous  struggles  generated  by  individual 
ambition. 

How  was  this  evil  to  be  guarded  against?  Nature 
provided  for  it. 

At  some  critical  period  in  the  life  of  a  tribe,  a  combina- 
tion of  tribes,  or  of  a  nation,  some  man  of  eminent  ability 
and  energy  had  rescued  it  from  great  dangers,  perhaps 
conquest  or  extermination  by  foreign  enemies.  He 
united  the  community  into  a  more  compact  body,  perhaps 
drew  into  union  witli  it  some  neighboj'ing  and  cognate 
tribes ;  and  averting  a  succession  of  dire  public  evils, 
may  have  ruled  the  nation  long  and  prosperously. 

In  the  decUne  of  liis  years,  lie  may  have  intrusted  to 
his  son  many  of  tlie  more  active  duties  of  the  public 
service.  Tiiis  son,  if  an  able  man,  would  acquire  great 
personal  influence,  and  attach  many  of  the  chief  and  most 
able  of  the  nation  to  himself. 

Meanwhile  a  new  generation  has  grown  up,  and  the 
nation,  almost  without  knowing  it,  is  returning  to  tlie 
patriarchal  idea  of  government.  On  the  death  of  the 
father,  the  son  may  naturally  succeed  liim.  For  there 
might  well  be  nobody  in  the  commu  ity,  who  saw  the 
least  chance  of  successfully  disputing  with  him  the  first 
place  in  the  nation.  The  renmant  of  patriarchal  rule  and 
influence  would  still  linger  in  many  localities,  and  prepare 
the  people,  quite  familiar  with  it,  to  return  to,  and  adopt 
it  on  the  largest  scale. 

It  is  a  gross  misconception  to  suppose  that  hercc'itary 
rule  originated  in  usurpation  and  tyranny.  It  must  have 
begun  in  the  confiding  attachment  of  followers  to  a  chief. 
Justice  and  fair  dealing  to  those  under  his  rule,  are  in- 
ttinctively  his  natural  policy ;  and  are  equally  the  natural 


!; 


194 


policy  of  his  successors.  In  \\\g\v  political  coiiduct  none 
of  tliein  seek  to  make  enemies  among  their  subjects. 
Personally,  they  have  no  motive  for  oppressing  one  chiss 
for  the  benefit  of  another. 

Communities  and  nations  very  early  discovered,  rather 
by  instinct  than  reason,  this  simple  means  of  shutting  out 
a  large  part  of  tliose  tierce  contentions  whicli  tore  society 
to  pieces.  They  gave  the  place  of  chief,  or  rather,  they 
promptly  received  as  their  chief,  the  son  of  their  dead 
chief.  This  gradually  hardened  into  the  rule  of  succes- 
sion by  hereditary  descent,  as  the  best  safeguard  against 
a  disputed  succession  and  its  possible  consequences. 
This  remedy  against  civil  tumult  and  war,  and  the 
possible  division  of  the  nation,  must  liave  a  foundation  in 
man''8  instinctive  search  after  peace  and  civil  order.  For 
it  has  been  adopted  in  every  age,  in  every  country,  in 
every  phase  of  society,  among  every  race  of  men  who  even 
approximated  to  civilization. 

Numerous  as  have  been  the  civil  w^ars  and  internal 
commotions,  harassing  and  devastating  nations,  the  nar- 
ratives of  which  cover  a  monstrous  proportion  of  the 
pages  of  history ;  they  would  have  been  vastly  multiplied, 
and  their  evils  greatly  swollen  but  for  this  one  rule — the 
hereditary  succession  of  the  son  to  the  father.  Taking 
into  view  tlie  whole  history  of  nations,  tliis  rule  of  hered- 
itary succession  has  secured  to  them  more  unity,  peace, 
and  prosperity ;  has  curbed  more  cidminal  ambition,  and 
proved  a  stronger  safeguard  against  intestine  commo- 
tion— than  any  other  conceivable  measure  could  have 
done. 

No  doubt  many  a  republic,  and  occasionally,  even  an 
oligarchy,  has  been  driven  to  adopt  monarchy  for  the 
sake  of  peace  and  safety ;  and  once  adopted,  monarchy 


195 


iking 
ered- 
)eace, 
and 
nmo- 
lave 


naturally  becomes  hereditary.  It  is  a  great  security  to 
the  peace  and  prosperity  of  tlic  country  when,  the  an- 
nouncement, "  Le  Roi —  est  mort^'^  is  at  once  followed 
by  the  proclamation  "  Vim  le  Roi  /"  shutting  out  com- 
motion, and  forestalling  the  ambition  that  might  lead  to 
bloody  wars. 

Some  nations  have  not  limited  succession  to  the  male 
line ;  but,  in  default  of  a  sol  to  succeed  the  dead  sove- 
reign, have  given  their  allegiance  to  the  daughter. 
Nor  do  any  particular  evils  seem  to  have  sprung 
from  this  enlargement  of  the  rule  of  hereditary  succes- 
sion. Female  succession  has  at  times  been  attended  by 
peculiar  success,  and  been  received  with  extraordinary 
enthusiasm.  As  when  Maria  Theresa,  Empress  of  Aus- 
tria, being  hard  pressed  by  her  great  enemy,  Frederick, 
of  Prussia,  assembled  the  Hungarian  nobles,  and  person- 
ally applied  to  them  for  aid.  They  rose  as  one  man, 
drew  their  swords  and  exclaimed  as  with  one  voice  : 
"  We  will  die  for  our  King,  Maria  Theresa  !" 

In  primitive  times,  the  duties  of  the  king  might  be 
simply  defined.  Thus,  the  discontented  people  of  Israel 
demanded  a  king  of  the  prophet  Samuel,  "That  our 
King  may  judge  us,  and  go  out  before  us,  and  fight  our 
battles."  They  looked  only  for  the  performance  of  the 
two  great  duties  of  the  State. 

No  hereditary  monarchy  ever  existed  long  without 
there  growing  up  around  it  limitations  to  the  exercise  of 
sovereign  power.  Very  soon  there  were  many  things 
that  the  king  could  not  do.  Even  under  the  autocratic 
empire  of  Persia,  it  became  the  established  rule  that  the 
royal  decree  should  be  preceded  by  a  consultation  of  the 
great  otficers  and  notables  of  the  Empire  ;  and  to  secure 
caution  in  legislation  the  maximum  was  adopted,  that  the 


196 


decree  was  unchangeable,  "  According  to  the  law  of  the 
Modes  and  the  Persians,  which  alteroth  not." 

The  limitation  to  the  abuse  of  sovereign  power  is,  in 
almost  every  nation,  exercised  lii'st  by  a  class  scattered 
over  the  country,  wielding  great  local  influence.  They 
may  be  the  heads  of  old  tribes  wliich  still  feel  the  influ- 
ence of  ancestral  ties,  or  more  often,  the  heads  of  great 
families  which  some  generations  of  able  and  success- 
ful ancestors  have  raised  to  local  importance.  Many  of 
them  are  highly  educated,  not  a  few  are  able  men  accus- 
tomed to  deal  with  affairs  of  importance,  and  to  exercise 
great  influence.  These  men  have  their  ambition,  but  it  is 
not  of  a  revolutionary  kind.  No  class  is  more  interested  in 
the  prosperity  and  good  government  of  the  State,  or  more 
anxious  to  promote  it  than  they  are.  Governments  are 
essentially  conservative  institutions,  create<l  to  preserve, 
not  to  revolutionize  and  destroy ;  and  this  influential 
class  are  eminently  conservative. 

The  sovereign  sees  that  it  is  far  easier  and  safer  to  rule 
with  the  support  of  this  class,  than  in  opposition  to  it. 
The  abler  of  them  are  taken  into  the  royal  counsels, 
some  of  them  All  important  offices,  and  contribute  greatly 
to  the  easy  and  smooth  working  of  the  departments  of 
government. 

Perhaps  there  never  was  a  truly  autocratic  sovereignty, 
except  those  created  by  great  conquerors,  such  as  Genghis 
Khan,  Timour  the  Great,  ISTapoleon  Bonaparte,  and  some 
few  others  known  in  the  world's  history ;  and  this  autoc- 
racy of  the  ruler  seldom,  or  never,  lasted  beyond  the  life 
of  the  founder.     Limitatious  on  power  soon  spring  up. 

If  it  be  asked  what  does  a  hereditary  nobility  repre- 
sent? we  would  say  that  it  represents  for  the  whole 
nation  the  principle  of  inheHtance,  without  which  the 


197 


country  could  never  liave  risen  to  prosperity  or  civiliza- 
tion. It  18  the  conservative  representation  of  accpiited  and 
vested  rights,  the  overthrow  of  whicli  leads  to  national 
ruin. 

After  a  long  line  of  hereditary  succession,  the  personal 
character  and  capacity  of  the  sovereign  becomes  of  far 
less  importance  than  it  would  have  been  at  an  earlier  era. 
It  may  at  times  be  an  advantage  that  the  sovereign  has 
no  remarkable  vigor  of  character.  However  able  and 
estimable  the  sovereign  may  be,  his  greatest  value  to  the 
nation  is  now  his  undisputed  filling  of  that  first  place  at 
its  head  ;  which,  were  it  vacant,  would  awaken  the  dan- 
gerous ambition  of  many  aspiring  men,  in  the  country, 
and  lead  to  a  fierce  and  demoralizing  struggle  to  gain  the 
vacant  post  by  the  most  unscrupulous  means. 

The  mass  of  men  are,  always  have  been,  ever  will  be, 
incapable  of  embracing,  with  head  and  heart,  an  abstract 
code  of  principles  in  politics ;  and  of  giving  an  honest, 
understanding,  and  undivided  allegiance  to  them.  But 
all  men  can  give  a  true  allegiance  to  an  individual,  repre- 
senting a  family  whose  career  is  inseparably  connected  with 
critical  eras  in  their  country's  history,  and  with  vital 
principals  of  national  policy  and  rights.  Poland  might 
have  escaped  partition,  and  national  extinction,  had  it 
adhered,  like  its  neighbors,  to  hereditary  succession  to 
the  crown.  And  Portugal  would  now  liave  been  but  a 
province  of  Spain,  if  it  had  not  clung  to  the  house  of 
Braganza,  as  the  true  line  of  succession  to  the  throne. 


LYI. 

A  FAVORITE  topi  3  witli  the  radical  reformers  of  this  day 
is  the  monopoly  of  land  in  few  hands. 

10 


■  X]    "A 


198 


V  -V 


7 


I 


I 


It  is  a  gross  error  to  think  that  large  landed  estates  in- 
dicate a,  wasteful  employment  of  a  nation's  resources. 
On  the  contrary,  rothing  has  tended  more  to  increase  the 
productiveness  of  many  countries  than  large  landed 
estates. 

Almost  all  the  improvements  in  that  all-important  art, 
agriculture,  have  sprung  from  the  fact  that  there  were 
large  estates  in  land.  For  the  owner  pf  many  thousand 
acres  can  seldom  take  much  of  it  under  cultivation  in  his 
own  hands.  He  generally  finds  it  best  to  divide  the  land 
into  convenientrsized  farms,  and  lease  them  to  tenants. 

Tiie  ultimate  effect  has  been  that  there  grew  up  a  class 
of  farmers,  not  mere  peasants,  clowns  who  do  not  look 
beyond  the  necessity  of  following  the  plow  mechan- 
cally  for  a  living,  as  their  fathers  did ;  but  men,  by 
choice,  devoted  to  rural  life,  and  agricultural  and  pastoral 
pursuits.  Few  of  them  have  wealth  enough  to  buy  a 
farm  of  their  own.  For  in  an  old  country  that  requires 
something  like  a  fortune.  But  they  have  money  enough 
to  stock  a  farm,  large  or  small,  and  they  take  one  on 
lease  from  the  proprietor. 

There  arises,  in  time,  in  the  country  a  most  important 
class  of  what  may  be  called  professional  and  scientific 
agriculturists  and  stock-breeders,  devoted  to  their  chosen 
occupations ;  and  specially  trained  to  them.  As  all  men 
have  not  the  needful  aptitudes,  although  they  may  have 
the  tastes,  for  these  pursuits ;  the  unsuccessful  have  to 
seek  other  occupations  as  a  means  of  living. 

Many  of  these  farmers  become  scientific  men  in  their 
especial  line.  To  tliis  class  of  educated,  scientific  farmers 
we  owe  nearly  all  the  great  improvements  in  agriculture 
and  stock-breeding ;  which  have  more  than  doubled,  per- 
haps trebled,  the  productions  of  the  necessaries  of  life 
from  the  same  land  within  the  last  hundred  years. 


199 


The  vast  improvement  in  implements  and  macliinery, 
as  applied  to  farming ;  the  extended  and  skillful  appli- 
cation of  manures,  guided  by  agricultural  chemistry  ; 
judicious  rotation  of  crops,  improved  breeds  of  stock, 
and  all  that  is  now  known  as  high  farming,  is  due  to  this 
educated  class  of  farmers.  All  this  development  of  the 
agricultural  resources  of  the  country,  and  its  immensely 
increased  production,  required  larger  farms,  in  tlie  hands 
of  educated  men  ;  with  a  command  of  capital  unknown 
to  the  small  farmer  of  past  generations. 

Taking  Great  Britain,  as  an  example.  It  is  necessary 
to  know  something  of  the  state  of  farming  there  one 
hundred  years  ago^  and  what  was  the  production  on  the 
small  farms  of  that  time,  in  the  hands  of  uneducated  ten- 
ants, mere  day  laborers  in  their  qualifications ;  and  com- 
pare their  product,  especially  the  live-stock,  with  that  of 
the  larger  farms  and  the  farmers  of  the  present  time.  A 
greatly  larger  amount  of  production,  both  vegetable  and 
animal,  from  far  less  manual  labor  has  been  the  result. 
This  progress  was  only  possible  where  tliere  were  many 
large  estates ;  which,  far  from  discouraging  population, 
afford  it  direct  and  the  greatest  possible  encouragement, 
by  increasing  the  production  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 

LYII. 


The  whole  history  of  society  and  of  civilization,  es- 
pecially in  this  age,  proves  that  there  is  in  Nature,  a 
violent  tendency  in  material  acquisitions,  to  run  into  few 
hands.  That  a  few  will  grow  very  rich,  while  the  n:any 
continue  or  become  comparatively  poor.  We  know  that 
great  wealth  will  carry  with  it  great,  and  often,  corrupting 


■■■ 


200 


influences.  It  is  better  for  mankind  that  much  of  this 
great  wealth  should  have  passed  by  inheriteiice,  into  the 
hands  of  those  who,  by  birth  and  training,  are  actuated 
by  other  motives  and  objects  in  life,  than  tlioso  which 
usually  control  the  parvenu  millionaire  with  whom 
money  has  been  the  sole  object,  and  source  of  influence 
and  po\ver.  This  wealth  has  often  been  acquired  by  the 
most  unscrupulous  arts.  That  is  necessarily  a  corrupt 
and  degrading  condition  of  society  in  which  men  are 
valued- by  one  single  test — tlie  weight  of  their  purses. 
This  is,  perhaps,  characteristic  of  this  age  beyond  all 
others. 

Old  riches  and  new  riches  are  represented  by  very  dif- 
ferent classes  of  persons.  In  general,  ancient  wealth  has 
brought  with  it  to  its  possessors  some  culture  and  refine- 
ment, a  measure  of  family  pride,  and  a  sense  of  obligation 
and  of  honor,  which,  if  not  virtues,  at  least  generate  a 
desire  to  emulate  the  character  and  reputation  of  their 
forefathers ;  of  whom  they  almost  always  think  more 
highly  than  they  deserve.  Most  of  this  class  are  zealous 
to  uphold  the  honor  and  institutions  of  their  country. 

But  newly  acquired  riches  have  none  of  these  temper- 
ing influences  on  the  character  of  their  possessor.  And 
in  this  speculating,  stock-jobbing  age,  the  greatest  wealth 
often  falls  into  the  most  unscrupulous  hands. 

It  has  been  said  that  it  takes  several  generations  to 
make  a  gentleman.  This  is  not  strictly  true.  I  have 
known  gentlemen  who  were  born,  as  it  were,  between  the 
handles  of  the  plow ;  but  they  are  rare.  Some  one  has 
defined  nobility  to  be  ancient  wealth.  Certainly  the  pos- 
session, by  a  family,  of  wealth  for  many  generations,  in- 
dicates stamina  in  the  race,  and  affords  them  advantages 
of  many  kinds  to  build  on,  which  often  exercise  essential 


201 


influences  on  their  characters.  If  well  used,  these  advan- 
tages tend  to  raise  the  family  to  a  position  of  reputation 
and  influence  which  make  true  nobility,  although  its  rank 
may  not  be  marked  by  any  titles.  There  have  long  been, 
in  England,  families  of  great  Commoners  of  note,  which 
have  refused  to  accept  titles  of  nobility. 

Lord  Bacon  tells  us  that,  "  Those  who  are  first  raised 
to  nobility,  are  commonly  more  virtuous  {energetic  and 
enterprising)  but  less  innocent  than  their  descendants ; 
for  there  is  rarely  any  rising  but  by  a  commixture  of 
good  and  evil  arts.  But  it  is  reason  that  the  memory  of 
their  virtues  remain  to  their  posterity,  and  their  faults 
die  with  themselves." 

It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  men  derive  nothing,  in 
capacity  and  spirit  from  the  traits  and  merits  of  their  fore- 
fathers. All  social  experience  gives  the  lie  to  this.  Per 
sonal  qualities,  both  of  body  and  mind,  are  often  repro- 
ducing themselves  in  our  descendants.  The  result  from 
these  natural  tendencies  has  been  that,  in  almost  every 
old  country,  there  have  arisen  many  families,  occupying 
for  many  generations  eminent  positions,  exercising  great 
social  and  political  influence,  and  possessing  large  landed 
estates. 

But  the  revolutionary  agitation  of  this  age,  with  its 
social  and  political  theories,  is  particularly  hostile  to 
these  great  families,  and  especially  to  their  large  landed 
properties.  Tiie  same  class  of  minds,  which  feel  no  ani- 
mosity against  a  charlatan  who  has  made  his  millions  by 
a  quack  nostrum — -against  the  stock-jobber  who  has  ac- 
quired yet  more  by  his  unscrupulous  dealings  in  the 
money  market,  or  the  avowed  gamester  wlio  has  made  an 
immense  fortune  by  keeping  a  gamblers'  hell,  while  using 
every  art  to  lure  the  unwise  to  their  ruin  ;  or  the  noted 


m\ 


202 


actres8  or  opera  singer,  at  whose  feet  a  thoughtless  and 
frivolous  crowd  have  emptied  their  purses,  until  she  has 
accumulated  a  princely  fortune — all  these  may  revel  in 
their  ill-gotten  gains  with  the  greatest  ostentation,  in 
honor  and  safety,  while  aping  and  caricaturing  the  old 
nobility  of  European  kingdoms,  in  their  exterior  style  of 
life.  But  these  revohitionary  reformers  would  take 
Blenheim  and  the  manor  of  Woodstock  from  the  de- 
scendants of  Marlborough,  and  Apsley  house  and  Strathe- 
fieldsay  from  the  descendants  of  AVellington,  tlie  gifts  of 
a  grateful  nation  for  good  and  great  services  rendered  to 
their  country.  AVhat  more  fitting  monuments  for  great 
doeds  and  patriotic  services  could  these  great  men  desire, 
than  such  memorials  in  the  hands  of  their  lineal  descend- 
ants, keeping  their  memories  green  in  the  hearts  of  a 
nation  bound  not  to  forget  them  ? 

The  progress  of  society  and  civilization  in  modern 
Europe  is  chiefly  due  to  institutions  which  these  radical 
reformers  are  striving  to  abolish.  And  their  success  is 
likely  to  show  that  they  have  done  far  more  harm  than 
good,  should  they  succeed.  Oriental  society,  wanting  some 
of  these  very  institutions,  have  been  without  the  elements 
of  stability  and  progress.  "Tlie  Turks,"  Lord  Bacon  re- 
marks, "have  no  stirps^  no  regard  for  race."  Every- 
where the  cultivated  classes,  consistino;  of  families  lonsr 
settled  in  the  country,  in  easy  circumstances,  furnish  the 
best  attainable  standard  of  education,  manners,  morals, 
and  retinement.  They,  too,  are  the  people  who  have  the 
permanent  good  of  the  country  most  at  heart. 

It  is  no  more  likely  that  all  past  history  of  political  so- 
ciety is  tliat  of  ignorance  and  error,  than  that  the  history 
of  the  future  will  be  that  of  enlightenment  and  truth. 
In  the  progress  of  mankind  new  and  unforeseen  diffi- 


203 


culties  arise  ;  amid  which  we  are  as  likely  to  stumble  as 
we  were  of  old.  It  may  be  that,  in  the  past,  the  few 
have  often  domineered  over  the  many.  But  these  few  have 
been  generally  tlie  men  most  capable  of  dealing  with 
public  affairs.  In  the  future  the  many,  or  rather  the 
demagogues  who  lead  the  many,  may  tyrannize  over  the 
few,  far  more  fatally  obstructing  the  progress  and  wel- 
fare of  mankind. 

Government  is  not  designed  so  much  to  represent 
persons,  as  rights.  It  only  represents  persons,  inasmuch 
as  all  persons  are  presumed  to  have  some  rights.  The 
especial  purpose  for  which  it  came  into  existence,  is  the 
protection  of  rights  ;  especially  those  which,  not  being  of 
the  kind  possessed  by  every  one,  are  peculiarly  exposed 
to  danger  and  trespass — most  so  where  the  Government 
is  construed  to  be  the  protector  of  one,  or  some  peculiar 
classes  of  rights ;  as  of  men's  personal  liberty.  The  mod- 
ern discovery  tliat  tlie  will  of  a  bare  majority  constitutes 
truth,  right,  law,  and  justice ;  the  religious  faitli  in  the 
vox  populi  as  the  vox  dei ,'  that  one  million  and  one  men 
have  a  legal  and  natural  right  to  rule,  tax,  and  plunder 
one  million  in  the  same  country,  by  an  arithmetical  dem- 
onstration of  a  majority  of  one,  in  mere  numbers ;  al- 
though a  vast  preponderance  of  acquired  and  vested 
rights  (for  the  protection  of  which  the  State  came  into 
existence)  are  in  the  hands  of  the  smaller  number — 
these  rights  being  utterly  unrepresented  in  the  Govern- 
ment, although  they  make  the  possessors  of  them  far  the 
stronger  and  more  important  part  of  the  nation  ;  the 
Pars  inajor  et  melior  /  the  true,  natural  ruling  ma- 
jority, representing  a  vast  preponderance  of  rights  and 
capacities,  both  material  and  intellectual — tiiis  doctrine 
exposes  civilization  to  the  utmost  hazard.     For  there  are 


204 


-  many  indications  that  civilization  is  a  perishable  com- 
modity ;  difficult  to  procure,  more  difficult  to  preserve ; 
and  that  its  most  inveterate  enemy  is  insecurity  of  ac- 
quired and  veded  rujhU.  As  to  civilization  in  its  high- 
est sense — cultivated  thought,  sentiment,  emotion,  and 
principles — we  have  no  reason  to  believe  tliat  any  nation 
ever  was,  or  will  be  civilized  ;  but  only  some  individuals, 
or,  possibly,  some  classes,  which  may  greatly  influence 
the  midtitude.  That  is  the  most  we  can  hope  for.  But 
misgovern ment  may  easily  defeat  that,  while  aiming,  or 
pretending  to  promote  it. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  power  to  tax  is  the  power  to 
govern,  and  manhood  suffrage  is  the  riglit  basis  of  gov- 
ernment ;  then  a  bare  majority  of  voters,  possessing  no 
rights  whatever  but  those  that  are  personal — utterly 
without  any  proprietary  rights,  and  subject  to  no  taxa- 
tion— may,  and,  often  do  possess  and  exercise  the  whole 
power  of  taxing,  i.  e.,  of  governing. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  great  mass  of  voters  in  such  a 
democracy,  having  no  proprietary  interests  to  be  taxed, 
naturally  fall  under  the  lead  and  control  of  self-seeking 
demagogues ;  and  that  the  power  to  disburse  the  proceeds 
of  taxation,  is  the  power  to  corrupt  all  those  who  may  live 
by  employment  in  the  service  of  the  State :  it  follows 
that  those  who  impose  taxes,  so  far  from  having  any 
motive  for  practising  economy,  have  strong  inducements 
to  extravagance  in  levying  taxes,  and  in  spending  the 
proceeds.  The  more  they  raise  the  more  they  have  to 
spend,  feeling  themselves  none  of  the  burden  of  taxation, 
but  only  the  benefits  of  expenditure. 

The  result  is  that  those  in  power,  being  placed  in 
office  by  those  who  feel  none  of  the  burden,  but  only 
the  benefits  of  taxation  ;  in  order  to  retain  their  hold  on 
office,  are  driven  to  practise  this  policy : 


205 


Us 


In 


They  employ  the  revenres  of  the  State  in  buying  np 
unhesitating  and  unscrupulous  partisans ;  they  aim  at 
swelling  the  numbers  and  strength  of  that  great,  paid 
army  at  their  command ;  an  army  of  well-drilled  voters 
and  electioneering  agents — thousands  of  them  quartered 
in  the  custom-house,  more  thousands  in  the  post-office, 
and  in  other  government  departments.  Compared  with 
this  army  out  of  uniform,  the  fighting  army,  in  uni- 
form, is  but  a  skeleton  regiment. 

The  enemy  to  be  resisted  is  not  a  foreigner  outside  of 
the  country — but  more  dangerous  far,  the  tax-paying 
part  of  the  community,  here  at  home,  next  door,  but  out 
of  office. 

The  United  States  for  example,  may  be  said  to  have 
no  army,  or  nav}-.  But  those  in  office  tliere  have  a  mon- 
strous army  out  of  uniform,  at  their  beck,  costing  more 
money  than  the  regular  army  of  France  or  Germany. 

Yet  these  demagogue  statesmen  in  office  rack  their 
brains  to  devise  means  to  recruit  their  army  of  voters  and 
agents.  They  look  around  to  see  what  departments  of 
business  and  life,  can  be  converted  into  duties  and  prerog- 
atives of  the  State — in  order  to  monopolize  them,  and  fill 
them  with  their  official  creatures. 

The  political  theorists,  of  this  day,  seeking  office,  or  al- 
ready enjoying  State  patronage,  make  many  valuable  sug- 
gestions on  this  point.  The  State  may  take  charge  of  the 
railroads  and  telegraph  lines — for  the  good  of  the  people. 
That  will  give  the  State  patronage  and  control  of  a  new 
army  of  voters.  The  ownership  by  the  State  of  coal, 
iron,  gold,  and  other  mines,  and  of  petroleum  wells — all 
for  the  good  of  the  people.  The  monopoly  of  education 
will  give  the  State  the  patronage  over  fifty  thousand 
more  educated  voters  ;  and  so  on,  until  the  major  part  of 


206 


the  efficient  men  in  the  country,  are  in  the  pay  of  the 
State.  Yet  this  monopolizing  policy  will  be  incomplete 
until  the  State  assumes  the  ownership  of  all  the  land  in 
the  country,  for  the  good  of  the  people ! 

We  sometimes  meet  with  a  true  principle  in  an  unex- 
pected place  ;  as  if  it  had  gone  astray,  and  lost  itself. 
The  English  nation  had  one  as  to  taxation,  which  they  let 
slip  through  their  fingers,  and  lost  a  long  time  ago. . 

In  the  confusion  and  obscurity  -of  the  Middle  Ages, 
when  the  church  had  adroitly  become  a  great  power  and 
a  great  proprietor  in  England ;  whenever  some  national 
emergency,  as  a  foreign  war,  called  for  an  unusually  large 
revenue,  the  parliament,  and  likewise  the  convocation  of 
the  clergy,  were  assembled  ;  and  both  were  applied  to  for 
funds  to  meet  the  emergency.  The  parliament  was  in- 
duced to  grant,  sometimes  a  fifteenth,  sometimes  a  tenth, 
to  be  levied  on  tlie  assessed  value  of  ?J1  the  chattels, 
movables,  c  personal  propert'/  of  every  layman.  The 
clergy  in  convocation,  made  a  similar,  often  a  larger 
grant,  out  of  their  chattels.     Each  order  taxed  itself. 

Let  us  suppose  the  process  reversed,  and  that  each 
order  taxed  the  other ;  would  we  not  have  occasionally 
seen  some  wild  work,  in  the  process  of  taxation  ?  Yet 
each  would  have  been  held  in  check,  fearing  to  excite  the 
animosity  of  those,  who  in  turn  would  assess  their  taxes. 
But  in  a  State  based  on  manhood  suffrage,  all  property 
being  in  the  hands  of  less  than  one-third  of  the  voters, 
there  is  no  check  on  the  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
voters;  but  rather  a  premium  offered  them,  to  induce 
them  to  carry  on  taxation  even  to  confiscation.  They 
imagine,  falsely,  that  they  can  lose  nothing,  ])ut  may  gain 
much  by  that  process.  A  hungry,  greedy,  multitude 
cannot  reason,  and  is  not  long  restrained  by  any  scruples. 


207 


But  the  State  lias  no  right  to  burden  tlie  energetic  and 
provident  members  of  the  community  who  are  climbing 
to  the  higher  grounds  of  civilization  and  prosperity,  by 
compelling  them  to  drag  up  with  them  the  sluggish  and 
improvident.  This  the  State  does,  or  attempts  to  do, 
'  whenever  it  taxes  one  class  for  the  benefit  of  another. 

The  most  effectual  mode  of  checking  and  preventing 
political  usurpation  and  cori'uption,  is  to  keep  down  the 
number  of  persons  who  derive  their  incomes  from  the 
proceeds  of  taxation.  And  the  only  way  to  do  that  is  to 
prevent  the  State  from  assuming  any  duty  tliat  can  pos- 
sibly be  performed  for  society  by  private  persons,  or 
by  voluntary  combinations  of  them.  This  is  intensely 
the  interest  and  duty  of  those  classes  which  bear  the 
burden  of  maintaining  the  State.  The  truth  is,  they 
alone  should  have  any  voice  in  imposing  taxes. 

It  may  seem  strange  after  what  I  hi;ve  said  of  universal 
suffrage,  that  I  should  suggest  any  mt'ins  of  mitigating 
so  radical  an  evil.  Yet  I  will  urge  some  means  which 
may  do  much  for  the  protection  of  rights,  otherwise  left 
without  any  safeguard  where  manhood  suffrage  usurps  all 
power. 

Without  directly  interfering  with  this  suffrage  where 
it  has  been  established,  we  should  introduce  a  representa- 
tion of  property  as  well  as  persons ;  a  justifiable  mode  of 
modifying  the  evil.  All  persons  who  pay  taxes  should 
have  a  voice  in  imposing  them.  This  would  include 
many  who  now  have  no  vote,  all  women  and  children, 
who  have  taxable  property. 

But  as  elections  are  in  themselves  corrupting  and 
practical  evils  (it  is  well  known  that  of  all  legal  insti- 
tutions of  civil  society,  the  most  corrupt  and  demoraliz- 
ing are  elections),  in  order  to  protect  women  from  the 


208 


eifecttj  of  taking  an  active  part  in  political  and  election- 
eering intrigues,  and  having  to  elbow,  their  way  to  the 
polls ;  all  of  which  is  very  unsuitable  and  distasteful  to 
most  women,  tending  strongly  to  unsex  them — to  guard 
against  this  demoralization,  women  having  taxed  property 
should  vote  only  by  a  power  of  attorney,  a  short  form 
being  prescribed  by  law,  the  power  to  be  retained  by  the 
managers  of  elections  to  guard  against  frauds.  In  the 
case  of  a  child  having  taxable  property  his  legal  guardian 
should  vote  for  him.  Any  man,  having  taxable  property, 
in  more  than  one  election  district,  should  have  a  vote 
in  each  of  those  election  districts. 

The  following  classes  of  persons  should  have  no  votes : 
1.  No  one  receiving  aid  or  relief  for  himself  or  one  of 
his  family,  from  any  established  cliarity  to  which  he  is 
not  a  regular  contributor.  2.  Ko  soldier,  or  seaman  in 
the  navy.  For  the  officers  can  induce  most  of  the  men 
to  vote  at  their  dictation.  3.  No  one  who  has  been  con- 
victed of  a  felony  or  any  disgraceful  offense,  as  perjury 
or  taking  a  bribe.  4.  No  one  having  on  record  against 
him  an  unpaid  liability  either  to  the  State  or  a  private 
person,  even  as  an  insolvent  bankrupt. 

You  would  thus  get  rid  of  many  objectionable  voters 
who  do  not  support  the  State,  but  are  rather  a  burden  on 
the  coiinnunity ;  and  gain  many  responsible  tax-paying 
voters  in  place  of  them.  It  is  very  important  to  exclude 
voters  who  have  proved  themselves  not  trustworthy. 
The  franchise  is  not  a  property  to  be  made  a  profit  of. 
It  is  a  responsibility  to  be  used  as  a  safeguard  for  your- 
self and  for  others. 

The  welfare  of  a  nation  is  far  safer  under  the  care  of 
those  w^ho  have  something  they  seek  to  preserve :  acquired 
and  vested  rights,  than  under  the  control  of  those  who 


200 


are  scrambling  for  what  tliey  can  get.  For  all  the  higher 
purposes  of  life  outside  of  their  habitual  occupations, 
most  men  are  mere  creatures  of  impulse,  and  will  be  in 
spite  of  State  education.  There  is  no  training  to  induce 
thouglit,  caution,  responsibility,  on  the  average  man, 
equal  to  the  possession  and  care  of  some  property. 

The  great  blunder  of  these  revolutionizing  remodellers 
of  the  condition  of  mankind,  in  their  aim  to  raise  the 
masses  to  a  state  of  perfectibility  ;  is  their  utter  miscon- 
ception of  the  design  of  that  Nature  which  rules  the 
world  we  live  in.  The  more  we  inquire  into  the  history, 
nature,  and  condition  of  tliis  world,  and  of  ourselves,  its 
chief  inhabitants,  the  more  evident  it  becomes  that  it 
was  not  designed  for  a  place  or  a  state  of  general  and 
durable  happiness,  or  even  content.  We  are  discontented, 
dissatisfied  creatures,  and  will  continue  so  under  any 
social  and  political  conditions.  The  only  step  man  has 
ever  made  toward  perfection,  has  been  an  occasional 
approach  to  the  perfection  of  criminality. 

That  Greek  philosopher,  who  has  perha,ps  for  twenty 
centuries,  exercised  most  influence  over  the  minds  of 
deep  thinkers,  expressed  most  forcibly  in  a  few  words 
when  dying,  the  career  nati. ral  to  man:  "I  was  born 
crying,  I  have  lived  troubled,  I  die  anxious."  Our 
modern  philosophers  may  not  know  that  their  careers 
may  be  epitomized  in  these  few  words.  Still  less  would 
tliey  share  in  the  credulity  implied  in  these  words  of 
Lord  Bacon :  "I  would  rather  believe  in  all  the  fables  of 
the  legend,  and  of  the  Talmud,  and  of  the  Alcoran,  than 
that  this  universal  frame  is  witliout  a  mind."  To  the 
untutored  eye,  gazing  on  the  full  moon,  it  is  but  a  silvery 
disk.  To  the  scientific  eye  aided  by  the  telescope,  it 
becomes  a  sphere.     The  moon's  Ubrations  showing  nar- 


210 


row  strips  of  the  other  side  not  usually  turned  to  us, 
which  we  can  never  see  fully  from  this  earth.  So  he 
who  speculates  on  the  nature  of  this  life  and  world,  as  a 
whole  before  his  eyes,  and  not  a  part  only,  is  sure  to  go 
astray.  Like  the  librations  of  the  moon,  there  are  indi- 
cations i!i  this  life  and  world,  that  we  see  here  one  side 
only.  The  other,  and  it  is  likely,  the  larger  part,  is  hid- 
den by  a  curtain  which  affords  us  but  narrow  glimpses  of 
what  lies  beyond.  The  chief  and  true  cause  of  the  errors 
of  our  would-be  political  philosophers,  I  will  endeavor  to 
trace  in  our  next  section. 


LYIII. 


Since  the  days  of  Lucretius,  the  brilliant  poetical  ex- 
pounder of  the  material  philosophy,  there  never  have 
been  so  many  worshipers  of  matter  infesting  the  world, 
as  at  this  time.  Their  influence  is  wide-spread.  Almost 
all  the  wildest  political  theorists,  to  whom  we  have  had 
occasion  to  allude,  are  of  this  scliool. 

All  these  philosophers  tell  us,  in  tones  of  more  than  papal 
infallibility — for  tliey  feel  none  of  the  diffidence  of  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  who,  when  some  one  expressed  surprise 
at  the  extent  of  his  knowledge,  and  wondered  what  it 
was  that  he  did  not  know,  replied,  "  I  am  as  a  child  pick- 
ing up  shells  upon  the  shore  of  that  great  ocean.  Truth" — 
they  assert  that  the  only  possible  sources  of  activity  and 
impulse  in  the  world  are  the  mechanical  powers,  and  the 
chemical  agents  of  physical  Kature. 

It  is  astonishing  how  much  these  seemingly  abstract 
speculations  are  influencing,  not  for  good,  the  moral, 
social,   and  political  condition  of  the  world  we  live  in. 


211 


(/ 


The  vanity  and  pres'imption  of  these  material  Hophists, 
and  their  bigoted  allc<ri'  nee  to  the  h-apreiuacy  and  uni- 
versal reign  of  matter,  •  j  so  absolute ;  that  we  can  only 
liken  them  to  tliat  fellow,  who,  the  other  v'  ly,  iiiKisted  on 
breaking  open  tlie  tomb  of  Shakespeare,  and  taking  out 
his  skull,  to  see  if  it  was  like — his  own  I 

As  I  have  had  some  experiences,  winch  1  cannot  account 
for  on  their  theories;  which  I  have  had  expounded  to  me 
on  a  late  occasion  by  a  zealous  disciple  and  coi)yist  of 
Tyndall ;  I  still  dorbt  the  infallibility  of  tlieir  dogma  — 
that  every  effect  is  the  result  of  a  material,  physical 
cause — so  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  state  a  case  or  two ; 
not,  of  course,  with  the  hope  of  altering  their  established 
convictions ;  which  are  Iniilt  on  too  solid  and  material 
ground  to  be  shaken. 

1.  A  man  with  a  full  purse  in  his  pocket,  passing 
through  a  dark  lane  at  night,  is  stricken  down  witli  a 
bludgeon,  has  his  skull  fractured,  and  dies  of  something 
very  like  apoplexy.  Here  is  a  material,  physical  cause, 
producing  a  material,  physical  effect. 

2.  Another  man — he  called  himself  a  merchant,  but 
was  a  financial  gambler  of  the  most  reckless  type — had 
risked  more  than  all  his  own  wealth,  and  much  of  other 
people' ^^,  in  a  bold,  liazardous  venture  abroad— and  has 
become  anxious  as  to  the  result. 

He  receives  a  dispatch  from  his  foreign  correspondent. 
But  it  is  written  in  French ;  and  he  cannot  read  French. 
So  the  letter  produces  no  effect  but  to  aggravate  his 
anxiety  and  excitement.  But  when  his  clerk,  better 
educated  as  to  the  French  tongue,  comes  in,  and  translates 
it  for  him,  announcing  his  utter  ruin  ;  the  stroke,  without 
fracturing  his  skull,  produces  much  the  same  effect  on  his 
brain,  as  the  bludgeon  had  on  that  of  the  man  murdered 


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and  robbed  in  the  lane.  How  are  we  to  trace  a  connected 
cliain  of  material  causes  producing  this  material  effect. 

3.  Take  a  more  imposing  and  complicated  case.  The 
Spanish  veterans,  in  tlie  Low  Countries,  are  resting  idly 
on  their  arms.  The  best  troops  in  Europe,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  with  a  choice  of  important  enterprises  before 
them,  do  nothing  for  their  sovereign's  service.  Why 
this  pause  ? 

Their  general  is  awaiting  a  dispatch  from  Madrid.  It 
comes  at  last.  On  opening  it  he  iinds  that  one  drop  of 
ink  has  traced  two  words — Take  Breda  ! 

At  once  the  troops  are  in  motion.  The  town  is  invest- 
ed. The  sappers  open  the  trendies.  The  batteries  are 
raised.  The  guns  are  mounted.  The  cannonade  opens 
on  Breda.  After  a  long  and  gallant  defense  of  ten 
months,  the  bull-dog  tenacity  of  the  Spaniard  carries  the 
day.  Through  the  yawning  breaches  the  place  is  taken 
by  assault,  sacked,  burned,  and  the  garrison  and  people 
put  to  the  sword.     Breda  is  there  no  more  ! 

If  in  place  of  the  thought  of  vengeance,  which  prompted 
the  tracing,  with  one  drop  of  ink,  the  two  words — Tahe 
Breda — an  emotion  of  mercy,  little  known  to  the  breast 
of  Philip  the  Second,  had  suggested  the  change  of  one 
word — Spare  Breda — the  physical,  material  results  would 
have  been  reversed. 

Although  not  a  philosopher  of  the  school  of  matter, 
I  know  something  of  the  application,  and  of  tlie  propor- 
tioning of  material  causes,  to  produce  material  effects. 

For  example.  I  take  a  small  pistol,  charge  it  with 
twelve  grains  of  fine  gunpowaler,  and  on  that  a  leaden 
ball  of  sixty  grains  weight.  On  firing  the  pistol,  I  send 
the  ball,  say,  two  hundred  yards.  Wishing  to  produce  a 
greater  material  effect,  I  take  an  Enfield  rifle,  charge  it 


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are 


with  sixty  grains  weight  of  musket  powder,  and  a  leaden 
ball  weighing  six  hundred  grains.  On  firing  the  rifle,  I 
send  the  ball,  say,  one  thousand  yards.  Wishing  to  pro- 
duce a  still  greater  material  effect;  I  take  an  Armstrong 
gun,  charge  it  with  twelve  pounds  of  cannon  ])owder, 
and  an  iron  or  a  steel  ball  weighing  one  hundred  pounds. 
On  firing  the  cannon,  I  send  tlie  ball,  say,  five  miles. 

G-rowing  mischievous  in  my  experiments,  and  ambitious 
to  produce  a  great  and  startling  effect ;  which  will  be  felt 
far  and  wide,  and  be  remembered  long,  I,  at  great  cost 
and  labor,  and  much  risk  to  myself,  drive  a  gallery,  from 
behind  the  lines  of  St.  Roche.,  under  the  neutral  ground, 
to  and  through  the  base  of  the  rock  of  Gibraltar^  making 
several  chambers  along  the  length  of  this  rocky  promon- 
tory. I  store  each  chamber  with  some  tons  of  dynamite, 
and  connect  tliem  all,  by  a  wire,  with  an  electric  battery, 
behind  the  Spanish  lines.  On  firing  the  dynamite  by 
means  of  the  electric  battery,  what  happens  ?  What  has 
been,  for  nearly  two  centuries,  one  of  the  boasted  strong- 
holds of  England,  and  the  eyesore  and  heart-barn  of 
Spain,  crumbles  down  into  a  shattered,  ruinous,  rocky 
ridge ;  no  longer  domineering  over,  and  insulting  the 
Peninsula.  England  will  at  last  have  learned,  that,  after 
having  secured  her  hold  on  Malta.,  it  would  have  been 
politic  economy  sixty  years  ago,  to  have  exchanged 
Gibraltar  for  Ceuta,  just  across  the  straits. 

Now  I  will  avoid  making  a  blunder,  exactly  the  reverse 
of  those  habitually  made  by  the  worshipers  of  matter. 
I  will  not  mistake  the  bludgeon,  the  pistol,  the  Enfield 
rifle,  the  Armstrong  gun,  the  mining  gallery,  the  gun- 
powder, and  the  dynamite,  for  moral  and  spiritual 
agencies  ;  for  logical  and  convincing  operations  of  the  im- 
material  mind,  which,  indeed,  in  all  its  activity,   may 


214 


raake  use  of  some  matter,  as  its  slave.  I  know  that  all 
these  instrumental  agents  I  have  named,  are  of  the  earth, 
earthy.  : 

I  would  ask  our  philosopliers  to  explain  this.  If  the 
ink  and  paper  which  made  up  the  French  dispatch,  which 
killed  the  gambler,  so  greedy  of  lucre,  had  been  used  in 
announcing  to  him  tlie  gain  of  a  great  fortune  ;  and  he, 
with  his  heart  agitated  by  hope  and  fear,  had  died  of  the 
shock  of  joy  (quite  a  possible  result  with  a  man  of  that 
stamp)— would  the  ink  and  paper  have  been,  in  either 
case,  the  material,  mortal  agents  ? 

If  Philip  the  Second,  instead  of  writing,  with  one  drop 
of  ink,  Tahe  Breda,  had  used  it  to  write  Sjpare  Breda  / 
what  was  the  length,  breadth,  weight,  and  color,  of  that 
material  thing,  which,  used  in  one  way,  proved  a  mortal 
poison  to  thousands — used  in  the  other  way,  would  have 
proved  an  antidote  to  all  the  evils  that  destroyed  them. 

The  fact  is  that  in  both  cases,  immaterial  ideas,  and 
emotions,  having  no  length,  breadth,  or  weight,  defying 
all  the  tests  by  which  we  detect  the  presence  of  matter, 
were  doing  their  wonderful  work  on  mattei*.  In  the  case 
of  Breda,  its  fate  resulted  mediately  from  a  long  and 
complicated  chaid  of  mental  operations  in  the  mind  of  the 
Spanish  general. 

He  well  knew  his  master,  Philip  the  Second.  That 
his  most  marked  trait  was  the  intensity  of  his  animosities. 
That  of  all  men,  he  hated  most  intensely  his  rebel  subject, 
William  the  Silent,  Prince  of  Orange.  The  general  also 
knew  that  Breda  was  the  chief  feudal  lordship  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  and  the  stronghold  he  most  valued. 
^j  the  aid  of  these  hints,  he  knew  how  to  interpret  the 
two  words  traced  by  that  one  drop  of  ink.  It  was  to  his 
eyes  redder  than  blood.     Talce  Breda  iiisant  far  more 


215 


to  him,  than  to  another  who  did  not  know  Philip  of 
Spain  as  he  did.  He  could  construe  the  sentence  of 
death,  and  was  too  good  a  soldier  not  to  obey  the  order 
to  the  full. 

Our  philosophers  may  cleave,  with  devout  allegiance, 
to  the  mechanical  powers  and  chemical  agents  of  material 
Nature.  We  will  not  undertake  the  fruitless  task  of  con- 
verting them  to  the  true  faith :  there  are  instrumentali- 
ties around  us,  freer  and  more  potent  than  the  mechanical 
powers  and  the  chemical  agents  of  material  Nature,  not  to 
be  handled,  measured,  weighed,  analyzed  like  them,  or 
bottled  up  in  the  laboratory;  defying  all  the  tests  by 
which  we  seek  to  detect  the  presence  of  matter,  yet  for- 
ever spontaneously  at  work,  unseen,  in  the  world,  for  evil 
and  for  good ! 


The  End. 


